Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34315418›Full record

Trial reportBMC infectious diseases2021

Scent dog identification of SARS-CoV-2 infections in different body fluids.

Paula Jendrny, Friederike Twele, Sebastian Meller, Claudia Schulz, Maren von Köckritz-Blickwede, Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Eras Osterhaus, Hans Ebbers, Janek Ebbers, Veronika Pilchová, Isabell Pink and 12 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. The Role of Olfaction in Dogs: Evolution, Biology, and Human-Oriented Work.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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  9. Development of a safety protocol for training and using SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs: A pilot study.Journal of veterinary behavior : clinical applications and research : official journal of : Australian Veterinary Behaviour Interest Group, International Working Dog Breeding Association · 2023
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
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  14. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.

Paula Jendrny *Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 9, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Friederike Twele *Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 9, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Sebastian Meller *Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 9, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Claudia SchulzResearch Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Maren von Köckritz-BlickwedeResearch Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Eras OsterhausResearch Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Hans EbbersKynoScience UG, Am Teutohang 51, 48477, Hörstel, Germany.
Janek EbbersKynoScience UG, Am Teutohang 51, 48477, Hörstel, Germany.
Veronika PilchováResearch Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Isabell PinkDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
Tobias WelteDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
Michael Peter MannsHannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
Anahita FathiDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Medical-Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Marylyn Martina AddoDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Medical-Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Christiane ErnstBundeswehr Medical Service Headquarters, Koblenz, Germany.
Wencke SchäferBundeswehr School of Dog handling, Gräfin-Maltzan-Kaserne, Hochstraße, 56766, Ulmen, Germany.
Michael EngelsBundeswehr School of Dog handling, Gräfin-Maltzan-Kaserne, Hochstraße, 56766, Ulmen, Germany.
Anja PetrovCentral Institute of the Bundeswehr Medical Service Kiel, Kronshagen, Germany.
Katharina MarquartCentral Institute of the Bundeswehr Medical Service Kiel, Kronshagen, Germany.
Ulrich SchotteCentral Institute of the Bundeswehr Medical Service Kiel, Kronshagen, Germany.
Esther SchalkeBundeswehr School of Dog handling, Gräfin-Maltzan-Kaserne, Hochstraße, 56766, Ulmen, Germany.
Holger Andreas VolkDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 9, 30559, Hannover, Germany. holger.volk@tiho-hannover.de.
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation · DEBundeswehr Medical Service Academy · DEMedizinische Hochschule Hannover · DEOncoscience (Germany) · DEBundeswehr Joint Medical Service · DEGerman Center for Infection Research · DEUniversity Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe main strategy to contain the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remains to implement a comprehensive testing, tracing and quarantining strategy until vaccination of the population is adequate. Scent dogs could support current testing strategies.

methodsTen dogs were trained for 8 days to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in beta-propiolactone inactivated saliva samples. The subsequent cognitive transfer performance for the recognition of non-inactivated samples were tested on three different body fluids (saliva, urine, and sweat) in a randomised, double-blind controlled study.

resultsDogs were tested on a total of 5242 randomised sample presentations. Dogs detected non-inactivated saliva samples with a diagnostic sensitivity of 84% (95% CI: 62.5-94.44%) and specificity of 95% (95% CI: 93.4-96%). In a subsequent experiment to compare the scent recognition between the three non-inactivated body fluids, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 95% (95% CI: 66.67-100%) and 98% (95% CI: 94.87-100%) for urine, 91% (95% CI: 71.43-100%) and 94% (95% CI: 90.91-97.78%) for sweat, 82% (95% CI: 64.29-95.24%), and 96% (95% CI: 94.95-98.9%) for saliva respectively.

conclusionsThe scent cognitive transfer performance between inactivated and non-inactivated samples as well as between different sample materials indicates that global, specific SARS-CoV-2-associated volatile compounds are released across different body secretions, independently from the patient's symptoms. All tested body fluids appear to be similarly suited for reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals.

Indexed as

Body FluidsCOVID-19AnimalsDogsHumansOdorantsPandemicsSalivaSARS-CoV-2SalivaSARS-CoV-2Scent detection dogsSweatUrineVolatile organic compounds

Identifiers

PMID34315418
PMCPMC8313882
OpenAlexW3186692083

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.