ArticleThe Laryngoscope2021
SARS-CoV-2 Presence in the Saliva, Tears, and Cerumen of COVID-19 Patients.
Article in The Laryngoscope, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Screening for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR: Saliva or nasopharyngeal swab? Rapid review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- The Importance of Ear Canal Microbiota and Earwax in the Prevention of Outer Ear Infections.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates in tear secretions of inpatient COVID-positive individuals in an Indian tertiary care setting.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Cycle threshold values of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in conjunctival swabs and nasopharyngeal secretions: a comparative study from a tertiary care center in India.International ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Comparing SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Human Saliva to Oropharyngeal Swabs, Nasopharyngeal Swabs, and Sputum: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2023Review
- Conjunctival Swabs Reveal Higher Detection Rate Compared to Schirmer Strips for SARS-CoV-2 RNA Detection in Tears of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Saliva as a diagnostic specimen for SARS-CoV-2 detection: A scoping review.Oral diseases · 2022Article
- Repurposing antiviral phytochemicals from the leaf extracts of Spondias mombin (Linn) towards the identification of potential SARSCOV-2 inhibitors.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- A Review of the Potential Roles of Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Pharmacological Approaches for the Management of Mild-to-Moderate Symptomatic COVID-19.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2022Article
- Article
- Measuring the Possibility of Middle Ear Discharge for COVID-19 Test Material.Interdisciplinary perspectives on infectious diseases · 2022Review
- Immune Responses in SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV Infections: A Comparative Review.International journal of preventive medicine · 2022Review
- Recent findings and applications of biomedical engineering for COVID-19 diagnosis: a critical review.Bioengineered · 2021Review
- Development of a spectroscopic technique that enables the saliva based detection of COVID-19 at safe distances.Results in chemistry · 2021Article
- COVID-19 positivity rate in corneal tissue donors - A cause for concern!Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2021Article
- Ocular Involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in a Polish Cohort of COVID-19-Positive Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Just 2% of SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals carry 90% of the virus circulating in communities.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2021Article
- Manifestations and Virus Detection in the Ocular Surface of Adult COVID-19 Patients: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of ophthalmology · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectives/hypothesisThe emergence of a new coronavirus strain (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 from China led to a global pandemic. The lack of herd immunity against this virus and the possibility of viral spread from asymptomatic individuals is still a major challenge for the prevention of viral transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of the virus in different bodily secretions as a potential source of viral spread among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. STUDY
designCross Sectional Study.
methodsThe study included 38 COVID-19 patients with a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result for SARS-CoV-2, obtained from the combined nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal swab samples. Saliva, tear, and cerumen samples were taken from the patients within 72 hours of the first RT-PCR test. SARS-CoV-2 N1 and N2 gene regions were studied with single-step RT-PCR in all samples.
resultsAmong the studied samples, the highest positivity rate was in saliva (76.3%) followed by tears (55.3%) and cerumen (39.5%). Viral load in saliva was also significantly higher compared to tears and cerumen (P < .001), while there was no significant difference between tears and cerumen. Higher viral load in combined nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal swab samples was associated with higher viral load in tears, but not in saliva or cerumen. Half of the saliva, tear, and cerumen samples obtained from asymptomatic patients contained SARS-CoV-2 genome.
conclusionsThe virus was detected in the saliva, tears, and cerumen samples of both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The potential role of these bodily fluids on viral spread needs to be studied. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E1677-E1682, 2021.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.