ArticleMicroorganisms2021
High Efficacy of Saliva in Detecting SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR in Adults and Children.
Article in Microorganisms, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effect of sample site and collection procedure on identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Determining the optimal frequency of SARS-CoV-2 regular asymptomatic testing: A randomized feasibility trial in a home care setting.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Absences, Symptoms and Respiratory Viruses in a Swiss School: Longitudinal Study With Serial Saliva Sampling.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2025Article
- Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection biomarkers in a household transmission study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Air Cleaners and Respiratory Infections in Schools: A Modeling Study Based on Epidemiologic, Environmental, and Molecular Data.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Article
- Air cleaners and respiratory infections in schools: A modeling study using epidemiological, environmental, and molecular data.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- COVID-19 on Oral Health: A New Bilateral Connection for the Pandemic.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Twice weekly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) surveillance swabs are not as effective as daily antigen testing for containment of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks: A modeling study based on real world data from a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2023Article
- The Diagnostic Performance of Various Clinical Specimens for the Detection of COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of RT-PCR Studies.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Comparison between Nasopharyngeal and Saliva Samples for the Detection of Respiratory Viruses in Children with Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Pilot Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Parallel dynamics in the yield of universal SARS-CoV-2 admission screening and population incidence.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Sensitivity of nasopharyngeal swab and saliva specimens in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus among boarding school girls.IJID regions · 2023Article
- Use of saliva as an alternative diagnostic method for diagnosis of COVID-19.IJID regions · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 transmission with and without mask wearing or air cleaners in schools in Switzerland: A modeling study of epidemiological, environmental, and molecular data.PLoS medicine · 2023Article
- Extreme differences in SARS-CoV-2 viral loads among respiratory specimen types during presumed pre-infectious and infectious periods.PNAS nexus · 2023Article
- Article
- Validation of RT-qPCR test for SARS-CoV-2 in saliva specimens.Journal of infection and public health · 2022Article
- Saliva as a diagnostic specimen for SARS-CoV-2 detection: A scoping review.Oral diseases · 2022Article
- Diagnostic performance of patient self-collected oral swab (tongue and cheek) in comparison with healthcare worker-collected nasopharyngeal swab for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 detection.APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Rising demands for repetitive SARS-CoV-2 screens and mass testing necessitate additional test strategies. Saliva may serve as an alternative to nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) as its collection is simple, non-invasive and amenable for mass- and home testing, but its rigorous validation, particularly in children, is missing. We conducted a large-scale head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-PCR in saliva and NPS of 1270 adults and children reporting to outpatient test centers and an emergency unit. In total, 273 individuals were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in either NPS or saliva. SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results in the two specimens showed a high agreement (overall percent agreement = 97.8%). Despite lower viral loads in the saliva of both adults and children, detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva fared well compared to NPS (positive percent agreement = 92.5%). Importantly, in children, SARS-CoV-2 infections were more often detected in saliva than NPS (positive predictive value = 84.8%), underlining that NPS sampling in children can be challenging. The comprehensive parallel analysis reported here establishes saliva as a generally reliable specimen for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, with particular advantages for testing children, that is readily applicable to increase and facilitate repetitive and mass testing in adults and children.
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