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A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality

A nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) is the most frequently collected sample type when molecular diagnosis of respiratory viruses, including SARS CoV-2, is required. An optimal collection technique would provide sufficient sample quality for the diagnostic process and would minimize the discomfort felt by th...

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Autores principales: Uršič, Tina, Kogoj, Rok, Šikonja, Jaka, Jevšnik Virant, Monika, Petrovec, Miroslav
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10076767/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37033037
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1066934
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author Uršič, Tina
Kogoj, Rok
Šikonja, Jaka
Jevšnik Virant, Monika
Petrovec, Miroslav
author_facet Uršič, Tina
Kogoj, Rok
Šikonja, Jaka
Jevšnik Virant, Monika
Petrovec, Miroslav
author_sort Uršič, Tina
collection PubMed
description A nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) is the most frequently collected sample type when molecular diagnosis of respiratory viruses, including SARS CoV-2, is required. An optimal collection technique would provide sufficient sample quality for the diagnostic process and would minimize the discomfort felt by the patient. This study compares a simplified NPS collection procedure with only one rotation of the swab to a more standard procedure with five rotations. Swabs were collected from 76 healthy volunteers by the same healthcare professional on 2 consecutive days at a similar hour to minimize variability. The number of Ubiquitin C copy number per sample was measured by real-time quantitative PCR and patient discomfort was assessed by questionnaire. No statistically significant difference (p = 0.15) was observed in the Ubiquitin C copy number per sample between a NPS collected with one rotation (5.2 ± 0.6 log UBC number copies/sample) or five rotations (5.3 ± 0.5 log UBC number copies/sample). However, a statistically significant difference was observed in discomfort between these two procedures, the second being much more uncomfortable. Additional analysis of the results showed a weak correlation between discomfort and the number of human cells recovered (Spearman's rho = 0.202) and greater discomfort in younger people. The results of this study show that a NPS collected with one slow rotation has the same quality as a NPS collected with five rotations. However, the collection time is shorter and, most importantly, less unpleasant for patients.
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spelling pubmed-100767672023-04-07 A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality Uršič, Tina Kogoj, Rok Šikonja, Jaka Jevšnik Virant, Monika Petrovec, Miroslav Front Public Health Public Health A nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) is the most frequently collected sample type when molecular diagnosis of respiratory viruses, including SARS CoV-2, is required. An optimal collection technique would provide sufficient sample quality for the diagnostic process and would minimize the discomfort felt by the patient. This study compares a simplified NPS collection procedure with only one rotation of the swab to a more standard procedure with five rotations. Swabs were collected from 76 healthy volunteers by the same healthcare professional on 2 consecutive days at a similar hour to minimize variability. The number of Ubiquitin C copy number per sample was measured by real-time quantitative PCR and patient discomfort was assessed by questionnaire. No statistically significant difference (p = 0.15) was observed in the Ubiquitin C copy number per sample between a NPS collected with one rotation (5.2 ± 0.6 log UBC number copies/sample) or five rotations (5.3 ± 0.5 log UBC number copies/sample). However, a statistically significant difference was observed in discomfort between these two procedures, the second being much more uncomfortable. Additional analysis of the results showed a weak correlation between discomfort and the number of human cells recovered (Spearman's rho = 0.202) and greater discomfort in younger people. The results of this study show that a NPS collected with one slow rotation has the same quality as a NPS collected with five rotations. However, the collection time is shorter and, most importantly, less unpleasant for patients. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-03-23 /pmc/articles/PMC10076767/ /pubmed/37033037 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1066934 Text en Copyright © 2023 Uršič, Kogoj, Šikonja, Jevšnik Virant and Petrovec. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Public Health
Uršič, Tina
Kogoj, Rok
Šikonja, Jaka
Jevšnik Virant, Monika
Petrovec, Miroslav
A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
title A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
title_full A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
title_fullStr A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
title_full_unstemmed A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
title_short A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
title_sort simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality
topic Public Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10076767/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37033037
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1066934
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