Original article: novelty of Canadian manufacture nasopharyngeal swabs for collection of samples being tested for SARS-CoV-2 in a pandemic setting

• Published in: Frontiers in public health Vol. 12; p. 1344295
• Main Authors: Palomino-Padilla, Sandra, Caceres-Cardenas, Guillermo, Calderon, Rodrigo, Ko, Alex C-T, Garnett, Lauren, Doan, Kaylie, Chong, Patrick, Lino, Hammerly, Caceres, Tatiana, Veres, Teodor, Dos Santos, Claudia C, Nielsen, Birgit, Ugarte-Gil, Cesar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 09.05.2024
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Canada; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing - methods; COVID-19 Testing - methods; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; nasopharyngeal; Nasopharynx - virology; Pandemics; Peru - epidemiology; Public Health; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Specimen Handling - methods; swabs; Young Adult; Canada; Peru; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; swabs; RT-PCR; nasopharyngeal
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1344295

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a global shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, required for RT-PCR testing. Canadian manufacturers were contacted to share NP swab innovations. The primary objective was to determine whether novel NP test swabs were comparable to commercially available swabs regarding user characteristics, ability to collect a specimen, and diagnostic performance using RT-PCR testing. Participants were randomized by swab (test/control) and nostril (left/right). A calculated positive percent agreement ≥90% was considered successful. Mean Ct values of viral genes and housekeeping gene (RNase P) were considered similar if a Ct difference ≤ 2 between control and test group was obtained. There also was a qualitative assessment of swabs usability. 647 participants were enrolled from Huaycan Hospital in Lima, Peru, distributed over 8 NP swabs brands. Seven brands agreed to share their results. There were no statistically significant differences between the test swabs of these 7 brands and control swabs. All the seven brands are comparable to the commercially available flocked swabs used for SARS-CoV-2 regarding test results agreement, ability to collect a specimen, and user characteristics.