A novel anterior nasal swab to detect respiratory viruses: a prospective study of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity
Detection of respiratory viruses requires testing of the upper respiratory tract to obtain specimens for analysis. However, nasal and throat swabs can cause discomfort and procedural anxiety in children. Respiratory sampling methods which are accurate and less invasive are needed.
Less Invasive SARS-COV-2 testing for children: A comparison of saliva and a novel anterior nasal swab
Reducing procedural discomfort for children requiring respiratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 is important in supporting testing strategies for case identification. Alternative sampling methods to nose and throat swabs, which can be self-collected, may reduce laboratory-based testing requirements and provide rapid results for clearance to attend school or hospital settings.
Evaluation of Rhinomed Rhinoswab (Hydrophobic Flock) Elution Efficiency
Gnomix (Adelaide Australia) was engaged to compare the elution efficiency of Rhinoswab compared to the standard of care nasal swab (Copan ESwab™).
The study found that the CT scores for the two swabs were comparable at 20 μl loading for both high and low virus burdens.
Mass surveillance of SARS-COV-2 utilising self-collection swabs and high throughput laboratory techniques: An Australian case study of asymptomatic Year 12 students at the Qudos Bank Arena
A total of 15,519 participant performed self-collection of a novel nasal swab (Rhinoswab). They were subsequently tested on a mobile laboratory platform combining a liquid handler (Myra) with a thermocycler (micPCR) and SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR reagents. Roche Liat was implemented as a confirmation device.
The study concluded that self-collection techniques are preferred, protect healthcare workers and improve result turnaround times.
Collection by trained pediatricians or parents of mid-turbinate nasal flocked swabs for the detection of influenza viruses in childhood
This study evaluated the efficiency of pediatric mid-turbinate nasal flocked swabs used by parents in 203 symptomatic children aged 6 months to 5 years.
Two nasal samples were collected in a randomised sequence: one by a trained pediatrician and one by a parent.
Thes findings showed that mid-turbinate nasal flocked swabs specifically designed for infants and children can be used by parents without reducing the influenza virus detection rate.
Feasibility of specimen self-collection in young children undergoing SARS-COV-2 surveillance for in person learning
The study was conducted at a K-8 school in California with 296 participants to assess whether school children aged 5 to 14 years, can feasibly self-collect SARS-CoV-2 samples for surveillance testing over the course of an academic year. Clinical research staff provided all students with instructions to ensure proper technique.
Error rates stabilized at 3% within a month showing that students were able to master nasal swabbing techniques and that lower nasal swabbing is well-tolerated by children as young as 5 years.
Adequacy of nasal self-swabbing for SARS-COV-2 testing in children
The goal of this study was to characterize the ability of school-aged children to self-collect adequate anterior nares (AN) swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing. 287 children aged 4-14 years-old, of whom 197, were symptomatic were instructed to self-collect a sample followed by a clinician collected sample.
94.1% of children provided adequate self-swabs versus 96.5% HCW-swabs with no difference when stratified by age.
Assessment of Sensitivity and Specificity of Patient-Collected Lower Nasal Specimens for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
This prognostic study compared collection of three specimens: a patient-collected lower nasal swab, a physician-collected lower nasal swab and a physician-collected oropharyngeal swab from 30 participants infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Diagnostic equivalence was seen across the three methods of specimen collection.
Evaluation of a novel anterior nasal swab for the detection of SARS-CoV-2
The study compared Rhinoswab, a novel anterior nasal swab to combined nose and throat and neat saliva samples.
The study found that Rhinoswab performed equally well in comparison to a combined throat and nose swab for the laboratory detection of SARS-CoV-2 using nucleic acid amplification techniques.
COVID-19 testing in kids: What concerns parents?
The Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll of 1434 parents who care for 2553 children, found a range of barriers which may impact on the willingness of parents to attend a testing clinic for their child. Of these parents, almost three quarters (74 per cent) were concerned the COVID-19 test might be stressful, painful or uncomfortable for their child, with 30 per cent indicating these worries are very likely to stop them from taking their child to have a test.
Rhinoswab Sample Capture Study
The study compared the mean sample capture performance of Rhinoswab against the commercially available standard of care nasal swab (Copan ESwab™) when inserted in the nose for 15 seconds, 1 minute and 2 minutes.
The findings showed that Rhinoswab collected a statistically significant (95% CI) greater average sample mass across all insertion times.
Nasal swab as preferred clinical specimen for Covid-19 testing in children
A prospective study of children (age 0–18) testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, with 52 paired samples of both nasal and oropharyngeal specimens taken on admission and every 1-3 days during hospitalization.
Results support the superiority of nasal over oropharyngeal swab collection, determined by a significantly higher positivity rate and a significantly higher mean viral load on nasal samples.
Swabs Collected by Patients or Health Care Workers for SARS-CoV-2 Testing
A cross sectional study with 530 participants from five ambulatory clinics comparing self-collected tongue, nasal and mid turbinate samples with clinician collected nasopharyngeal samples.
Both the nasal and mid-turbinate samples were clinically acceptable on the basis of estimated sensitivities above 90% and the 87% lower bound of the confidence interval for the sensitivity of the mid-turbinate sample being close to 90%.
Adoption of techniques for sampling by patients can reduce PPE use and provide a more comfortable patient experience.
Self-collection: An appropriate alternative during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
A prospective study of 236 patients comparing patient collected throat and nasal swabs, clinician collected throat and nasal swabs and clinician collected throat and nasopharyngeal swabs. Samples were analysed for SARS-CoV-2 as well as common respiratory viruses.
Self-collection was highly concordant with HCW collected for all viruses including SARS-CoV-2
Comparison of Unsupervised Home Self-collected Midnasal Swabs With Clinician-Collected Nasopharyngeal Swabs for Detection
A cross sectional study with 185 participants recruited at a covid drive -thru, compared clinician-collected nasopharyngeal swabs with home collected samples.
Unsupervised home self-swab collection was found to present several advantages, including accessibility outside of the health care system and minimizing personal protective equipment use.
Diagnostic performance of different sampling approaches for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing: a systematic review and meta-analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic performance of different clinical specimen collection methods from 5577 studies.
Nasal swabs gave comparable and very good diagnostic performance and are clinically acceptable alternative specimen collection methods.