Encouraging patients—even children—to beryllium much straight progressive successful their ain aesculapian attraction whitethorn trim the load connected healthcare workers and mightiness adjacent assistance those objective laboratories struggling to prosecute capable phlebotomists to cod specimens
Researchers astatine Emory University School of Medicine person concluded a survey which recovered that school-aged children tin successfully usage a nasal swab to get their ain SARS-CoV-2 trial specimens. This whitethorn travel arsenic a astonishment to infirmary and objective laboratory unit who person performed nasal swabbing for COVID-19 tests. Some people, adults included, find the process truthful uncomfortable it brings tears.
And yet, aft being shown a 90-second how-to video and fixed a handout with written instructions and pictures, 197 Atlanta children who had COVID-19 symptoms betwixt July and August of 2021 performed their ain self-swabbing. A healthcare idiosyncratic past collected a 2nd swabbed sample. All samples were submitted to a objective laboratory for PCR analysis.
The Emory survey provides different illustration of however the healthcare strategy is engaging patients to beryllium straight progressive successful their ain aesculapian care. Results of the survey could positively interaction objective laboratories facing a shortage of personnel, arsenic good arsenic schools wherever children person to instrumentality repeated COVID-19 tests with the assistance of trained professionals.
The Emory researchers published their findings successful the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), titled, “Concordance of SARS-CoV-2 Results successful Self-collected Nasal Swabs vs Swabs Collected by Health Care Workers successful Children and Adolescents.”
In a survey with 197 school-age children, researchers astatine Emory University School of Medicine recovered that children could self-swab themselves for COVID-19 investigating aft watching a 90-second instructional video. Clinical laboratory leaders who are abbreviated connected unit whitethorn find these results intriguing. (Photo copyright: Emory University.)
How Did the Children Do?
The self-collected swabs and those collected by a healthcare idiosyncratic agreed 97.8% of the clip for a affirmative effect and 98.1% of the clip for a antagonistic result. The investigation showed that some postulation methods identified the 44% of symptomatic kids who were affirmative for COVID-19.
“Seeing however intimately the results enactment up betwixt the children and trained healthcare workers is simply a beardown indicator that these property groups are afloat susceptible of swabbing themselves if fixed due instruction,” said Jesse Waggoner, MD, an Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases with the Emory University School of Medicine and 1 of the pb authors connected the study, successful an Emory University press release.
A higher percent of children property 8 and nether needed assistance, specified arsenic much acquisition earlier correctly completing self-collection—21.8% compared to 6.1% for children older—but SARS-CoV-2 detection among the 2 property groups did not differ.
Does FDA Approve of Self-Swabbing?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized COVID-19 tests that see self-swabbing by children nether property 14. However, information from the Emory study, published successful JAMA, is present disposable to trial manufacturers seeking authorization for pediatric self-collection.
“Pediatric self-swabbing volition enactment expanded investigating entree and should marque it adjacent easier to trial schoolhouse property populations with less resources,” said Tim Stenzel, MD, PhD, Director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics astatine the FDA, successful the Emory statement. “This survey furthers our cognition of trial accuracy with these types of samples and provides trial manufacturers with information to enactment their EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) requests to the FDA.”
Self-swabbing versus Clinical Laboratory Worker
While it has been longstanding aesculapian signifier to person healthcare workers cod samples for respiratory tract corruption testing, the Emory researchers suggest that allowing children to cod their ain COVID-19 samples could beryllium 1 mode to trim the load of a shortage of healthcare workers.
The researchers besides judge pediatric self-swabbing would grow entree to diagnostic tests and marque it easier to trial school-age populations.
“Every infinitesimal of a healthcare worker’s clip is astatine a premium,” said elder survey writer Wilbur Lam, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Tech, successful a National Institutes of Health (NIH) press release. “Why not let a kid to self-swab? It’s a win-win! They would alternatively bash it themselves and it frees up the healthcare idiosyncratic to bash different things,” helium added.
In 2020, a Stanford University School of Medicine study published successful JAMA showed trial samples collected by adults who swabbed their ain nasal passages were arsenic close arsenic those collected by healthcare workers. This survey progressive 30 participants who had antecedently tested affirmative for COVID-19.
Though the Emory University and Stamford University studies were small, they agreed successful their findings which is significant. Clinical laboratory executives and pathologists should expect this inclination toward direct-to-consumer and different forms of self-testing to continue, adjacent among young patients.
—Andrea Downing Peck
Related Information:
Can Children Swab Themselves for COVID-19? New Study Suggests Yes
NIH-Funded Pediatric COVID-19 Testing Study Finds School-Aged Children Can Self-Swab
Self-Swabbing Tests for COVID-19 Accurate and Safe, Study Reports
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