Main findings of recent studies on SARS-CoV-2 detection in saliva samples by using RT-PCR.
| Authors | Main finding(s) related to salivary specimens |
| To et al28 | 91.7% of nasopharyngeal swab-diagnosed cases. |
| Live virus was detected in saliva using viral culture. | |
| To et al29 | 87% of nasopharyngeal swab-diagnosed cases. |
| Salivary viral load was highest during the first week of symptom. | |
| Azzi et al32 | Detected in all nasopharyngeal swab-diagnosed cases. |
| Kojima et al24 | Self-collected saliva and nasal swab had similar sensitivity as compared with the clinician-collected nasopharyngeal swabs |
| Wyllie et al25 | Saliva is more sensitive and consistent than nasopharyngeal swabs |
| Williams et al31 | 84.6% of nasopharyngeal swab-diagnosed cases. |
| Viral load was higher in the nasopharyngeal swab. | |
| Pasomub et al33 | 84.2% of nasopharyngeal swab-diagnosed cases. |
| Saliva might be an alternative specimen for COVID-19 diagnosis. |
SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.