We thank Fabbris et al. for their remarks [1] on our publication “Self-Collected Samples to Detect SARS-CoV-2: Direct Comparison of Saliva, Tongue Swab, Nasal Swab, Chewed Cotton Pads and Gargle Lavage” [2].
We agree that nasal wash or nasopharyngeal aspirate, which has previously been demonstrated to be useful when testing for different viruses, Ref. [3] may also be an interesting candidate to test for SARS-CoV-2 in a self-collected environment.
In our study, we limited the number of different collection techniques to avoid overwhelming the study participants with a multitude of samples collected without supervision by a medical professional, and due to potential interference between different specimens.
Our study was designed to assess the diagnostic sensitivity of self-collected specimens. Therefore, we recruited patients who were known to be infected with SARS-CoV-2. This prohibited us from determining the specificity of the materials examined in our study.
Funding
Data from the original work of this reply was based on research funded in part by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through project NaFoUniMedCovid19 [B-FAST]—COVIDready (grant 02WRS1621C).
Conflicts of Interest
S.C. and S.H.: Research support from Roche diagnostics; S.C.: Speaker’s fee from Roche diagnostics. All other authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
References
- Fabbris, C.; Camerotto, R.; Battistuzzi, V.; Spinato, G. A Viable Alternative. Comment on Kohmer et al. Self-Collected Samples to Detect SARS-CoV-2: Direct Comparison of Saliva, Tongue Swab, Nasal Swab, Chewed Cotton Pads and Gargle Lavage. J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10, 5751. J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 4501. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Kohmer, N.; Eckermann, L.; Böddinghaus, B.; Götsch, U.; Berger, A.; Herrmann, E.; Kortenbusch, M.; Tinnemann, P.; Gottschalk, R.; Hoehl, S.; et al. Self-Collected Samples to Detect SARS-CoV-2: Direct Comparison of Saliva, Tongue Swab, Nasal Swab, Chewed Cotton Pads and Gargle Lavage. J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10, 5751. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Flynn, M.F.; Kelly, M.; Dooley, J.S.G. Nasopharyngeal Swabs vs. Nasal Aspirates for Respiratory Virus Detection: A Systematic Review. Pathogens 2021, 10, 1515. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
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