Enhancing sample collection - fact or fiction?

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chooks

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The government published blueprint for testing (Testing Blueprint) states that :

Enhancing sample collection. The Administration has partnered with medical
experts to improve sample collection. Previously, samples had to be collected from
the nasopharyngeal space, which required a licensed provider to probe deeply into
the nasal cavity. Today, tests can be administered using a far less intrusive—and far
more comfortable—technique that uses a swab of the front of the nose or mouth. In
addition to added comfort, these newer approaches enable self-collection and
observed self-collection, greatly reducing the amount of personal protective
equipment required for testing.

Has anyone seen any actual information that nasal or oral swabs are ok or what platforms these samples run on? Abbot ID now is the only I know of that says that nasal or OP swabs or ok. Still, I have a hard time believing that nasal or straight oral swabs have an appropriate LOD, especially as the blueprint talks about testing asymptomatic patients. There is an NP self collection kit (the Pixel) but I have yet to hear of a nasal or oral self collection kit that is approved for home collection.

Enhanced sample collection sounds more like a wish item then reality. Anyone have any info otherwise? Would love to be wrong...

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Cepheid says nasopharyngeal swab, nasal swab, mid-turbinate swab, or nasal wash/aspirate. In their limitations section it then says performance has only been established in the nasopharyngeal swab and nasal wash/aspirate and that testing of nasal and mid-turbinate swabs is limited to patients with symptoms.

I am extremely skeptical of self-collection. A nasopharyngeal swab collection should elicit tears. Very few people are masochistic enough for that. Are they seriously suggesting that we need a more "comfortable" method?
 
The government published blueprint for testing (Testing Blueprint) states that :



Has anyone seen any actual information that nasal or oral swabs are ok or what platforms these samples run on? Abbot ID now is the only I know of that says that nasal or OP swabs or ok. Still, I have a hard time believing that nasal or straight oral swabs have an appropriate LOD, especially as the blueprint talks about testing asymptomatic patients. There is an NP self collection kit (the Pixel) but I have yet to hear of a nasal or oral self collection kit that is approved for home collection.

Enhanced sample collection sounds more like a wish item then reality. Anyone have any info otherwise? Would love to be wrong...


I guess if you were completely out of NP swabs, a nasal specimen is clinically acceptable, but it definitely decreases the sensitivity of detection:

"Out of 37 patients that were positive for SARS -CoV -2 by nasopharyngeal swab 75 testing, 33 were also tested positive with nasal sampling. "

Nasal swab sampling for SARS-CoV-2: 2 A convenient alternative in time of nasopharyngeal swab shortage
 
Anyone actually dumb enough to use Abott ID now? It aersolizes the viral particles in a 26+ foot diameter like a viral jihadist IED.

Let me pay for the privilege of super infecting everyone in my entire lab for an isothermal cycler that sucks vs. other platforms anyway....genius we are seeing is beyond legendary:)
 
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