Reliability of induced sputum test is greater than that of throat swab test for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19: A multi-center cross-sectional study

Virulence

Jiayuan Wu¹  Yingzi Huang²  Jianfeng Xie²  Hui Chen³  Jianfeng Zeng⁴  Tianwen Lai⁵  Liping Jia⁶  Fangfei Xiang⁷  Lieming Long⁸  Qinfu Zhang⁸  Huanqin Han⁸  Shuna Liu⁸  Wei Deng⁸  Wenna Chen⁸  Yang Huang⁸  Fan Mo⁸  Qingfeng Luo⁸  Weiqiang Zheng⁸  Wuying Zhang⁸ 

[1] Department of Clinical Research, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, Chin;Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Chin;Department of Intensive Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, Chin;Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis, The Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Chin;Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, Chin;Department of Respiratory Medicine, Huanggang Central Hospital, Huanggang, Hubei, Chin;Infectious Disease Center, Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Chin;Infectious Diseases Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, Chin;

关键词: COVID-19;    reliability;    induced sputum;    throat swab;    SARS-CoV-2;   

DOI  :  10.1080/21505594.2020.1831342

来源: Taylor & Francis

【 摘 要 】

We previously reported that sputum induction was more sensitive than throat swabs for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in two convalescent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients; however, the value and safety of induced sputum testing require further study. We conducted a prospective multi-center cross-sectional study to compare induced sputum to throat swabs for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Confirmed COVID-19 patients from six hospitals in six cities across China who received one or more negative RT-PCR result for SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled, and paired specimens (induced sputum and throat swabs; 56 cases) were assayed. In three paired samples, both the induced sputum and throat swabs were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positive rate for induced sputum was significantly higher than for throat swabs both overall (28.6% vs 5.4%, respectively; p < 0.01). Patients were divided according to time span from onset of illness to sample collection into the more-than-30-day (n = 26) and less-than-30-day (n = 30) groups. The positive rate for induced sputum was also significantly higher than for throat swabs in the less-than-30-day group (53.3% vs 10.0%, respectively; p < 0.001). For the more-than-30-day group, all paired samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2. Blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate remained stable during sputum induction and no staff were infected. Because induced sputum is more reliable and has a lower false-negative rate than throat swabs, we believe induced sputum is more useful for the confirmation of COVID-19 and is safer as a criterion for release from quarantine.

【 授权许可】

CC BY