Self-collected swabs

Patient-collected nasal and mid-turbinate samples may be appropriate for SARS-CoV-2 testing, researchers suggest in the New England Journal of Medicine. Some 500 patients in Washington State with symptoms of upper respiratory infection self-collected tongue, nasal, and mid-turbinate samples, and then had a nasopharyngeal swab taken by a healthcare worker. With the nasopharyngeal samples as the reference, the sensitivity of patient-collected swabs for SARS-CoV-2 was 89.8% for tongue samples, 94.0% for nasal samples, and 96.2% for mid-turbinate samples. The authors write, “Adoption of techniques for sampling by patients can reduce PPE use and provide a more comfortable patient experience.”

Self-collected swab findings in NEJM