Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) are widely accepted as specimens for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in the current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019. However, the collection procedures for NPS specimens causes sneezing and coughing in most patients, which generate droplets or aerosol particles that are hazardous to the healthcare workers collecting these specimens. In this study, 95 patient‐matched paired deep throat saliva (DTS) and NPS specimens from 62 patients were analyzed. Samples were tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The rates of detection for DTS (53.7%) and NPS (47.4%) samples were comparable (P  = .13). It is important to note that the patients should be clearly instructed or supervised during DTS collection. In conclusion, SARS‐CoV‐2 detection by RT‐PCR was equivalent in DTS and NPS specimens.

中文翻译：

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深喉唾液作为检测 SARS-CoV-2 的替代诊断样本类型。

在当前的 2019 年冠状病毒病大流行中，鼻咽拭子 (NPS) 作为检测严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 的标本被广泛接受。然而，NPS 标本的采集程序在大多数情况下会导致打喷嚏和咳嗽患者产生的液滴或气溶胶颗粒对收集这些标本的医护人员有害。在这项研究中，分析了来自 62 名患者的 95 名患者配对的深喉唾液 (DTS) 和 NPS 样本。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应 (RT-PCR) 对样本进行 SARS-CoV-2 检测。DTS (53.7%) 和 NPS (47.4%) 样本的检出率相当（P = .13)。需要注意的是，在 DTS 采集过程中应明确指导或监督患者。总之，RT-PCR 对 SARS-CoV-2 的检测在 DTS 和 NPS 标本中是等效的。