ArticleDiagnostic microbiology and infectious disease2022
Evaluation of observed and unobserved self-collection of saline gargle samples for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in outpatients.
Article in Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sensitivity of gargle samples compared to swabs for SARS-CoV-2 detection with nucleic acid amplification testing: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Virology journal · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of sample site and collection procedure on identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Performance of saline and water gargling for SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase PCR testing: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022Pooled it
- Saline gargle collection method is comparable to nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabbing for the molecular detection and sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in Botswana.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Article
- Prospective, clinical comparison of self-collected throat-bilateral nares swabs and saline gargle compared to health care provider collected nasopharyngeal swabs among symptomatic outpatients with potential SARS-CoV-2 infection.Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2024Article
- Recent advances in RNA sample preparation techniques for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva and gargle.Trends in analytical chemistry : TRAC · 2023Review
- Extraction-free clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus from saline gargle samples using Hamilton STARlet liquid handler.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Evaluation of Non-Invasive Gargle Lavage Sampling for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Using rRT-PCR or Antigen Assay.Viruses · 2022Article
- Simplifying the complex: accessible microfluidic solutions for contemporary processes withinLab on a chip · 2022Review
- Evaluation of water gargle samples for SARS-CoV-2 detection using Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 assay.Journal of medical virology · 2022Article
- Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in K-12 Schools, British Columbia, Canada April to June 2021.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The diagnostic sensitivity of observed and unobserved self-collected saline gargle samples for the molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 in adults and school-aged children was evaluated against a reference standard of health care worker collected nasopharyngeal flocked swab. A total of 46 participants had a positive nasopharyngeal swab sample; of these, 10 were in the observed phase and 36 were in the unobserved phase. Only one matching saline gargle sample tested negative and this was in the unobserved phase, giving an overall sensitivity of 98%. Average viral target Ct values were higher in the saline gargle samples. RNaseP Ct values were lower in unobserved collected samples compared to observed collected samples. Unobserved self-collection of saline gargle samples is a promising outpatient testing method for COVID-19 diagnosis. The self-collection method has potential to simplify the diagnostic cycle and facilitate implementation of COVID-19 testing, particularly in settings with limited access to health care workers.
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