Saliva is a reliable tool to detect SARS-CoV-2

Lorenzo Azzi, Giulio Carcano, Francesco Gianfagna, Paolo Grossi, Daniela Dalla Gasperina, Angelo Genoni, Mauro Fasano, Fausto Sessa, Lucia Tettamanti, Francesco Carinci, Vittorio Maurino, Agostino Rossi, Angelo Tagliabue, Andreina Baj, Lorenzo Azzi, Giulio Carcano, Francesco Gianfagna, Paolo Grossi, Daniela Dalla Gasperina, Angelo Genoni, Mauro Fasano, Fausto Sessa, Lucia Tettamanti, Francesco Carinci, Vittorio Maurino, Agostino Rossi, Angelo Tagliabue, Andreina Baj

Abstract

Objectives: This study analyzed salivary samples of COVID-19 patients and compared the results with their clinical and laboratory data.

Methods: Salivary samples of 25 COVID-19 patients were analyzed by rRT-PCR. The following data were collected: age, sex, comorbidities, drugs. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ultrasensitive reactive C protein (usRCP) values were registered on the same day when a salivary swab was collected. Prevalence of positivity in saliva and association between clinical data and the cycle threshold as a semiquantitative indicator of viral load were considered.

Results: Twenty-five subjects were recruited into this study, 17 males and 8 females. The mean age was 61.5 +/- 11.2 years. Cardiovascular and/or dysmetabolic disorders were observed in 65.22% of cases. All the samples tested positive for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, while there was an inverse association between LDH and Ct values. Two patients showed positive salivary results on the same days when their pharyngeal or respiratory swabs showed conversion.

Conclusions: Saliva is a reliable tool to detect SARS-CoV-2. The role of saliva in COVID-19 diagnosis could not be limited to a qualitative detection of the virus, but it may also provide information about the clinical evolution of the disease.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; Saliva; nCoV-2019.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interests None.

Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scatter plot of LDH (a) or usCRP (c) values on the rRT-PCR cycle threshold values. Women and men are indicated by red and blue points; the blue line represents the regression result and the light blue area is its 95% confidence intervals. Panels (b) and (d) showed the same plots using age- and sex-adjusted residuals of LDH and usCRP levels, respectively, instead of their measured values, and the regression result from age- and sex-adjusted analysis (Table 2). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

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