# Original article: novelty of Canadian manufacture nasopharyngeal swabs for collection of samples being tested for SARS-CoV-2 in a pandemic setting

## TL;DR

This study tested new Canadian-made nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing and found them as effective as existing swabs during the pandemic.

## Contribution

Demonstrated that seven new NP swab brands are comparable to commercial swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing.

## Key findings

- Seven new NP swab brands showed no significant differences in diagnostic performance compared to control swabs.
- All swabs achieved a positive percent agreement of ≥90% for SARS-CoV-2 detection.
- User characteristics and specimen collection ability were similar across all tested swab brands.

## Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a global shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, required for RT-PCR testing. Canadian manufacturers were contacted to share NP swab innovations. The primary objective was to determine whether novel NP test swabs were comparable to commercially available swabs regarding user characteristics, ability to collect a specimen, and diagnostic performance using RT-PCR testing.

Participants were randomized by swab (test/control) and nostril (left/right). A calculated positive percent agreement ≥90% was considered successful. Mean Ct values of viral genes and housekeeping gene (RNase P) were considered similar if a Ct difference ≤ 2 between control and test group was obtained. There also was a qualitative assessment of swabs usability.

647 participants were enrolled from Huaycan Hospital in Lima, Peru, distributed over 8 NP swabs brands. Seven brands agreed to share their results. There were no statistically significant differences between the test swabs of these 7 brands and control swabs.

All the seven brands are comparable to the commercially available flocked swabs used for SARS-CoV-2 regarding test results agreement, ability to collect a specimen, and user characteristics.