How to perform a nasopharyngeal swab in adults and children in the COVID-19 era

S Pondaven-Letourmy; F Alvin; Y Boumghit; F Simon

doi:10.1016/j.anorl.2020.06.001

How to perform a nasopharyngeal swab in adults and children in the COVID-19 era

Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis. 2020 Sep;137(4):325-327. doi: 10.1016/j.anorl.2020.06.001. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Authors

S Pondaven-Letourmy¹, F Alvin², Y Boumghit³, F Simon²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Tours University Hospital, Tours, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of pediatric otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, AP-HP, Centre - Université de Paris, Paris, France.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Tours University Hospital, Tours, France.

Abstract

The nasopharyngeal swab is currently the main testing method used to diagnose COVID-19. The principle is to collect respiratory cells infected by the virus and to use the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription - Polymerase Chain Reaction) technique to detect the RNA of the virus. The false negative rate is high, about 30%, which can mainly be explained by an incorrect execution of the technique may increase the false negative rate and decrease the test's sensitivity. The aim of this note is to help healthcare providers to perform this test correctly in adults and children.

Keywords: COVID-19; Diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal swab; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2.

MeSH terms

Adult
Betacoronavirus / genetics
Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification*
COVID-19
COVID-19 Testing
Child
Clinical Laboratory Techniques / methods*
Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
Coronavirus Infections / virology*
Humans
Nasopharynx / virology*
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
Pneumonia, Viral / virology*
RNA, Viral / analysis
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

RNA, Viral