Extract
The possibility to rely on rapid and accurate diagnostic techniques has proved itself crucial during the last year to contain the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection [1]. Even if quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) on NasoPharyngeal Swabs (NPS) is still considered the standard for COVID19 diagnosis, saliva has been evaluated in several studies as a possible alternative to NPS and is currently extensively utilised in South Korea, Germany, and Japan [2, 3]. Nonetheless, the use of saliva is still debated, and a rigorous standardisation of the analysis protocol is greatly needed [4–6]. The application of point of care (POC) technologies on saliva, able to rapidly perform highly specific and sensitive molecular testing, could prove invaluable to allow the diagnosis also in challenging and remote settings by simplifying and speeding up the diagnostic process [1].
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgements:We thank DiaSorin Italia and Cepheid Italia for providing the reagents to perform the study free of charge.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: Francesca Saluzzo has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Paola Mantegani has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Valeria Poletti de Chaurand has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Federica Cugnata has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Patrizia Rovere-Querini has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Marta Cilla has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Patrizia Paola Erba has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Sara Racca has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Cristina Tresoldi has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Caterina Uberti-Foppa has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Clelia Di Serio has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: Daniela Maria Cirillo reports provision of tests from Cepheid and DiaSorin during the conduct of the study
- Received July 28, 2021.
- Accepted September 22, 2021.
- Copyright ©The authors 2021. For reproduction rights and permissions contact permissions{at}ersnet.org