SynthesisInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2022
SARS-CoV-2 saliva testing using RT-PCR: a systematic review.
Synthesis in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Diagnostic accuracy of non-invasive SARS-CoV-2 screening tests: a national prospective analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Trial
- Saliva and Anterior Nasal Samples for Detecting Respiratory Viruses in Children.APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Article
- Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection biomarkers in a household transmission study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Cross comparison of alternative diagnostic protocols including substitution to the clinical sample, RNA extraction method and nucleic acid amplification technology for COVID-19 diagnosis.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2024Article
- Optimization and application of digital droplet PCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva specimen using commercially available kit.Biology methods & protocols · 2024Article
- Influenza A, like Omicron SARS-CoV-2, Is Similarly Detected in Saliva or Nasopharyngeal Samples via RT-qPCR.Viruses · 2023Article
- Recent advances in RNA sample preparation techniques for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva and gargle.Trends in analytical chemistry : TRAC · 2023Review
- The role of the oral cavity in SARS-CoV-2- and other viral infections.Clinical oral investigations · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThere remain challenges in using SARS-CoV-2 RNA diagnostic assays in the respiratory tract in a pandemic. More so certain countries such as Hong Kong have already included saliva as part of their mass-testing protocol. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review on the alternate use of saliva as a SARS-CoV-2 RNA testing specimen in the context of mass screening with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.
methodsOur search methodology was modeled after the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist, and the risk of bias of the selected studies was qualitatively assessed. The percentage individual positive and percentage agreement of both index (saliva) and reference (nasopharyngeal swab), in preference to specificity and sensitivity, were estimated using Kappa statistics.
resultsA total of 44 studies met the inclusion criteria. The average percentage positive saliva cases was 72.7% (95% confidence interval), which was lower but not substantially different from the percentage positive NPS of 78.7% (95% confidence interval), and there was an average overall agreement of 89.7% (95% confidence interval).
conclusionAlthough the literature supports nasopharyngeal swab as a superior testing specimen, an alternative clinical specimen in saliva may offer potential benefits such that a potentially reduced accuracy may be tolerated, especially in low socioeconomic regions.
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