Danish citizens' preferences for at-home oropharyngeal/nasal SARS-CoV-2 specimen collection

Johan S Bundgaard; Daniel T Raaschou-Pedersen; Tobias Todsen; Anna Ringgaard; Christian Torp-Pedersen; Christian Von Buchwald; Kasper Iversen; Henning Bundgaard

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2021.06.060

Danish citizens' preferences for at-home oropharyngeal/nasal SARS-CoV-2 specimen collection

Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Aug:109:195-198. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.06.060. Epub 2021 Jul 1.

Authors

Johan S Bundgaard¹, Daniel T Raaschou-Pedersen¹, Tobias Todsen², Anna Ringgaard¹, Christian Torp-Pedersen³, Christian Von Buchwald⁴, Kasper Iversen⁵, Henning Bundgaard⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, The Heart Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
² Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
³ Department of Clinical Research and Cardiology, Nordsjaellands Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁵ Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Cardiology, Herlev-Gentofte University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁶ Department of Cardiology, The Heart Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

Introduction: Diagnostic confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 by self-collection of specimens is a reliable method compared with healthcare worker collected samples. Citizens' preferences for collection methods are unknown, but at-home collection could have several advantages.

Methods: This study investigated the preference for guided at-home self-collection versus at-hospital specimen collection by healthcare workers.

Results: Among the 3709 participants, at-home swab collection was the preferred setting for 2362 (63.7%) compared with 1347 (36.3%) reporting a preference for an at-hospital swabbing procedure.

Conclusion: A high preference for guided at-home self-collection of oropharyngeal/nasal SARS-CoV-2 specimens exists and could be a future norm beyond COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Diagnostics; Oropharyngeal/nasal swab; Patient-reported; SARS-CoV-2; Self-collection.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Denmark
Humans
Oropharynx
SARS-CoV-2*
Specimen Handling