Does the timing of saliva collection affect the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection?

Abstract

We evaluated the optimal timing of saliva sample collection to diagnose the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We obtained 150 saliva samples at four specific time points from 13 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The time points were (1) early morning (immediately after waking), (2) immediately after breakfast before tooth brushing, (3) 2 h after breakfast, and (4) before lunch. On the 2nd hospital day, patients collected saliva at the four time points by themselves. We collected samples at two time points, (1) and (3), from the 3rd hospital day to day 9 following symptom onset. In 52 samples collected at the four time points, there was no significant difference. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in the positive proportion or the viral load between the two time points in both analyses by the day from symptom onset and by all samples. In this study, there was no difference in the positive proportions in saliva collected at various time points within 9 days after symptom onset. The timing of saliva collection was not affected by the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.