ArticleScientific reports2021
Saliva is superior over nasopharyngeal swab for detecting SARS-CoV2 in COVID-19 patients.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 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
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of sample site and collection procedure on identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Comparison of Four Active SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance Strategies in Representative Population Sample Points: Two-Factor Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Trial
- Favipiravir, lopinavir-ritonavir, or combination therapy (FLARE): A randomised, double-blind, 2 × 2 factorial placebo-controlled trial of early antiviral therapy in COVID-19.PLoS medicine · 2022Trial
- Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in various environments and patients in dental units and dental clinics.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A Comparative Study on Genotoxic and Oxidative DNA Damage in Oral Epithelial Cells of COVID-19 Suspected Patients.Cureus · 2025Article
- Article
- Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in different types of clinical specimens among suspected COVID-19 patients in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Virusdisease · 2024Article
- Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics Reveals a Salivary Signature for Low-Severity COVID-19.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- A cell-based Papain-like Protease (PLpro) activity assay for rapid detection of active SARS-CoV-2 infections and antivirals.PloS one · 2024Article
- The Diagnostic Performance of Various Clinical Specimens for the Detection of COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of RT-PCR Studies.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Salivary SARS-CoV-2 RNA for diagnosis of COVID-19 patients: a systematic revisew and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy.The Japanese dental science review · 2023Review
- The Oral Cavity Potentially Serving as a Reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 but Not Necessarily Facilitating the Spread of COVID-19 in Dental Practice.European journal of dentistry · 2023Article
- Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Infection-and mRNA Vaccine-induced Humoral Immunity among Schoolchildren in Hawassa, Ethiopia.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Article
- Direct Nasal Swab for Rapid Test and Saliva as an Alternative Biological Sample for RT-PCR in COVID-19 Diagnosis.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 RNA From Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Concordance With Other Compartments in Nonhospitalized Adults With Mild to Moderate COVID-19.Open forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Delta Vaccine Breakthrough Transmissibility in Alachua County, Florida.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Article
- Performance of nasopharyngeal swab and saliva in detecting Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants.Journal of medical virology · 2022Article
- Performance evaluation of a non-invasive one-step multiplex RT-qPCR assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2 direct from saliva.Scientific reports · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Scaling up of diagnostic capacity is needed to mitigate the global pandemic of SARS-CoV2. However, there are challenges including shortage of sample collection swabs and transport medium. Saliva has been recommended as a simple, low-cost, non-invasive option. However, data from different populations and settings are limited. Here, we showed that saliva could be a good alternative sample to diagnose COVID-19 patients. Pair of NPS-saliva samples was collected from 152 symptomatic; confirmed COVID-19 patients, and compared their positivity rate, viral load, and duration of viral shedding. From 152 patients, 80 (52.63%) tested positive and 72 (47.37%) were negative for SARSA-CoV2 in NPS sample. In saliva, 129 (92.14%) were tested positive and 11 (7.86%) were negative on the day of admission to hospital. The overall percent agreement of RT-PCR result of Saliva to NPS was 70% (196/280). A comparison of viral load from 72 NPS-saliva pair samples on day of admission shows saliva contains significantly higher viral load (P < 0.001). In conclusion, saliva has higher yield in detecting SARS-CoV2, and COVID-19 patients show higher viral load and prolonged period of viral shedding in saliva. Therefore, we recommend saliva as a better alternative sample to NPS to diagnose COVID-19 patients.
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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.