Noninvasive Saliva Tests for COVID Effective as Nose, Throat Swabs

 You now have a more comfortable, easier-to-perform option for COVID-19 testing besides the “stick in the nose” and throat swab methods.

Saliva-based testing has shown accuracy in detecting positive coronavirus infection 83 percent of the time, while nose-throat swab tests have shown 85 percent accuracy, according to a review of dataTrusted Source from 16 studies including 5,900 participants published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study authors also report that saliva-based testing has shown 99 percent accuracy at identifying negative cases for COVID-19, with a far less invasive and discomforting process.

Furthermore, the researchers suggest that the ease of use and good diagnostic performance of the saliva-based test may make it an attractive alternative that could bolster test rates.

Dr. Seema Kumar, a medical director at Mytonomy, said at-home testing decreases the risk of COVID-19 exposure, increases access to testing, and reduces the burden on laboratories.

She said these are all critical benefits during the ongoing and ever-evolving pandemic.

“These tests are best used for those with mild symptoms or a known or suspected exposure to someone with a COVID-19 infection,” Kumar told Healthline.

“Saliva testing is very sensitive. It can detect the virus as well as one copy per microliter of saliva,” added Dr. Spencer Kroll, FNLA, an internal medicine specialist in New Jersey.

“It is reassuring that many saliva test kits show high concordance with nasal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2 detection,” he told Healthline.

However, Kroll said that the approximate mismatch of saliva testing versus nose-and-throat swab testing leaves room for missed cases that could have otherwise been detected with a nasal swab PCR test.

“Therefore, negative saliva results do not absolutely preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for patient management decisions,” he said.

“Negative results must be combined with clinical judgment, patient history, and epidemiological data,” Kroll said.

Kumar agrees.

“Test results are interpreted in context of symptoms, possible or known exposures, and prevalence of disease within the community,” she said.

Importantly, “sometimes a repeat test is needed,” Kumar said.

“The home testing offers convenience, but it is always best to review your results and questions with your healthcare provider,” Kumar said.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/noninvasive-saliva-tests-for-covid-19-as-effective-as-nose-throat-swabs#What-experts-think