Publication date: Sep 12, 2025
This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield and acceptability of parent-/caregiver-collected oropharyngeal nasal (ON) swabs compared with healthcare worker (HCW)-collected nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs for detecting respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children. Symptomatic children (0-4 years) presenting to the BC Children’s Hospital Emergency Department provided HCW-collected NP and caregiver-collected ON swabs. Acceptability was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Samples were tested using the SARS-CoV-2/Influenza A + B/RSV GeneXpert assay, and a subset was tested on the BioFire respiratory panel (RP) 2. 1 during the initial research phase. In a subsequent implementation phase during a high incidence of M. pneumoniae, paired ON and NP swabs were collected and tested on the RP 2. 1 in a quality improvement initiative. All M. pneumoniae-positive samples underwent testing for cycle threshold values. We analyzed 139 pairs from the research phase and 219 from the implementation phase. Detection rates for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B, and RSV were similar across swab types. Of 273 pairs tested on BioFire, ON swabs demonstrated significantly higher detection of M. pneumoniae (sensitivity of 94%, confidence interval [CI] [86, 98] ON vs 64% [61-75] NP, P = 0. 0020) and comparable detection for other pathogens. Caregivers rated ON swab collection as more acceptable than NP swabs (median 4. 5 [4-5] vs 2 [IQR 1-3], P
Open Access PDF
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | Emergency |
| pathway | KEGG | Influenza A |
| disease | IDO | assay |
| disease | IDO | quality |
| disease | MESH | respiratory infections |
| disease | MESH | pneumonia |
| disease | MESH | infectious disease |
| pathway | REACTOME | Infectious disease |