ArticlePLOS global public health2023
Preferences of healthcare workers using tongue swabs for tuberculosis diagnosis during COVID-19.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oral swabs with a rapid molecular diagnostic test for pulmonary tuberculosis in adults and children: a systematic review.The Lancet. Global health · 2024Pooled it
- User perspectives on the Molbio Truenat platform and tuberculosis assays for decentralised testing in Mozambique and Tanzania.BMJ global health · 2026Trial
- Diagnostic accuracy and acceptability of self- and health worker-collected tongue swabs formedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- "That is why I trust": a qualitative study on acceptability and feasibility of novel tongue swab diagnostics to assess people presenting with tuberculosis symptoms in Viet Nam and Zambia.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Tongue swab-based Targeted Universal Tuberculosis Testing in people living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Preferences for tongue swab versus sputum collection for TB testing: a multi-country survey.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2026Article
- Cost and impact of decentralized tuberculosis testing: a modeling analysis of price thresholds for molecular instruments in high-burden settings.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Acceptability of tongue swabs for tuberculosis screening in migrant settings in northern Italy: A qualitative study.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Testing tongue swab samples by Cepheid Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra: comparison of two protocols applied to samples from persons with low-bacillary load TB.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Preferences for tongue swab-based versus sputum-based testing in the context of TB care: a best-worst scaling exercise in Vietnam and Zambia.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Informing People-Centered Target Product Profiles for TB Diagnostics: A Multi-Country Qualitative Study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Oral Swab Testing With Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children Aged <5 Years in Uganda: An Exploratory Interim Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy in the NOD-pedFEND Cohort.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- High-sensitivity detection ofJournal of clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- "Time to Change": To What Extent Could Non-Sputum Sampling Accelerate the Fight Against Tuberculosis-A Qualitative Study Among End-Users.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Rapid quantitative PCR on tongue swabs for pulmonary tuberculosis in adults: a prospective multicentre study.The European respiratory journal · 2025Article
- High-sensitivity detection ofmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of tongue swab testing on two automated tuberculosis diagnostic platforms, Cepheid Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and Molbio Truenat MTB Ultima.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2024Article
- Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from tongue swabs using sonication and sequence-specific hybridization capture.PloS one · 2024Article
- Tongue swab testing on two automated tuberculosis diagnostic platforms, Cepheid XpertmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Placing the values and preferences of people most affected by TB at the center of screening and testing: an approach for reaching the unreached.BMC global and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Healthcare workers (HCWs) who come into contact with tuberculosis (TB) patients are at elevated risk of TB infection and disease. The collection and handling of sputum samples for TB diagnosis poses exposure risks to HCWs, particularly in settings where aerosol containment is limited. An alternative sample collection method, tongue swabbing, was designed to help mitigate this risk, and is under evaluation in multiple settings. This study assessed risk perceptions among South African HCWs who used tongue swabbing in TB diagnostic research during the COVID-19 pandemic. We characterized their context-specific preferences as well as the facilitators and barriers of tongue swab use in clinical and community settings. Participants (n = 18) were HCWs with experience using experimental tongue swabbing methods at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI). We used key informant semi-structured interviews to assess attitudes toward two tongue swab strategies: Provider-collected swabbing (PS) and supervised self-swabbing (SSS). Responses from these interviews were analyzed by rapid qualitative analysis and thematic analysis methods. Facilitators included aversion to sputum (PS and SSS), perceived safety of the method (SSS), and educational resources to train patients (SSS). Barriers included cultural stigmas, as well as personal security and control of their work environment when collecting swabs in community settings. COVID-19 risk perception was a significant barrier to the PS method. Motivators for HCW use of tongue swabbing differed substantially by use case, and whether the HCW has the authority and agency to implement safety precautions in specific settings. These findings point to a need for contextually specific educational resources to enhance safety of and adherence to the SSS collection method.
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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.