TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-Sampling of Oropharyngeal Swabs Among Healthcare Workers for Molecular Detection of Respiratory Viruses
T2 - A Valuable Approach for Epidemiological Studies and Surveillance Programs
AU - Galli, Cristina
AU - Pellegrinelli, Laura
AU - Del Castillo, Gabriele
AU - Forni, Giovanni
AU - Gandolfi, Cecilia Eugenia
AU - Mosillo, Marco
AU - Pietronigro, Anna
AU - Tiwana, Navpreet
AU - Castaldi, Silvana
AU - Pariani, Elena
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank all healthcare workers who participated to the study and all general practitioners involved in the virological surveillance of influenza in Lombardy.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Galli, Pellegrinelli, Del Castillo, Forni, Gandolfi, Mosillo, Pietronigro, Tiwana, Castaldi and Pariani.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11/23
Y1 - 2020/11/23
N2 - This study aimed at assessing the validity of self-collected (self-sampled) oropharyngeal (OP) swabs among healthcare workers compared to those collected by trained sentinel general practitioners (GP-sampled) from individuals with influenza-like illness (ILI), to be implemented in epidemiological studies and/or surveillance programs of viral pathogens involved in community respiratory infections. In our study, OP swabs were collected from adults (>18 years) with ILI during the 2018–2019 influenza season. Two groups of samples were considered: group 1−131 self-sampled OP swabs collected by healthcare workers after being trained on the sampling procedure; group 2−131 GP-sampled OP swabs collected from outpatients by sentinel GPs operating within the Italian Influenza Surveillance Network. To assess swabbing quality, following RNA extraction, each sample was tested for the presence of the human ribonuclease P gene (RNP) by in-house real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Samples with a cycle threshold (Ct) <35 were considered adequate for further virological analysis. Influenza viruses (IVs), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rhinovirus (RV) genomes were detected by in-house real-time RT-PCR. All samples were positive to RNP detection with Ct <35. The mean Ct value was similar in the two groups (group 1 vs. group 2: 25.93 ± 2.22 vs. 25.46 ± 2.40; p = 0.10). IVs, RSV, and RV positivity rates were 26.7 vs. 52.7% (p < 0.01), 7.6 vs. 9.9% (p = 0.52), and 21.4 vs. 19.9% (p = 0.76), respectively. Self-sampled OP swabs resulted as valid as GP-sampled OP swabs for molecular detection of respiratory viruses. Self-swabbing can thus be a worthwhile strategy for sample collection to implement molecular surveillance of respiratory pathogens and carry out epidemiological studies, easily reaching a larger population size.
AB - This study aimed at assessing the validity of self-collected (self-sampled) oropharyngeal (OP) swabs among healthcare workers compared to those collected by trained sentinel general practitioners (GP-sampled) from individuals with influenza-like illness (ILI), to be implemented in epidemiological studies and/or surveillance programs of viral pathogens involved in community respiratory infections. In our study, OP swabs were collected from adults (>18 years) with ILI during the 2018–2019 influenza season. Two groups of samples were considered: group 1−131 self-sampled OP swabs collected by healthcare workers after being trained on the sampling procedure; group 2−131 GP-sampled OP swabs collected from outpatients by sentinel GPs operating within the Italian Influenza Surveillance Network. To assess swabbing quality, following RNA extraction, each sample was tested for the presence of the human ribonuclease P gene (RNP) by in-house real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Samples with a cycle threshold (Ct) <35 were considered adequate for further virological analysis. Influenza viruses (IVs), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rhinovirus (RV) genomes were detected by in-house real-time RT-PCR. All samples were positive to RNP detection with Ct <35. The mean Ct value was similar in the two groups (group 1 vs. group 2: 25.93 ± 2.22 vs. 25.46 ± 2.40; p = 0.10). IVs, RSV, and RV positivity rates were 26.7 vs. 52.7% (p < 0.01), 7.6 vs. 9.9% (p = 0.52), and 21.4 vs. 19.9% (p = 0.76), respectively. Self-sampled OP swabs resulted as valid as GP-sampled OP swabs for molecular detection of respiratory viruses. Self-swabbing can thus be a worthwhile strategy for sample collection to implement molecular surveillance of respiratory pathogens and carry out epidemiological studies, easily reaching a larger population size.
KW - epidemiological studies
KW - molecular analysis
KW - oropharyngeal swabs
KW - respiratory viruses
KW - self-sampling
KW - surveillance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097410205&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85097410205&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpubh.2020.511669
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2020.511669
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85097410205
VL - 8
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
JF - Frontiers in Public Health
SN - 2296-2565
M1 - 511669
ER -