Adverse effects of nasopharyngeal swabs: Three-dimensional printed versus commercial swabs

Recovery of Bordetella pertussis from nasopharyngeal swabs.

Comparison of patient-collected and lab technician-collected nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for detection of COVID-19 by RT-PCR

Background & Objective:  A simple approach to prevent close contact in healthcare settings during the COVID-19 outbreak is to train patients to collect their own nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs and deliver them to medical laboratories to have them processed. The aim of our study was to c...

Survival of bacteria on swabs.

It has long been recognized that bacteria fail to survive for long periods on cotton swabs. Unsaturated fatty acids have been shown to inhibit a number of species (Pollock, Brit. J. Exptl. Pathol. 28:295, 1947; Rowatt, J. Gen. Microbiol. 17:279, 1957), and the presence of these substances in cotton has been demonstrated (Pollock, Nature 161:853, 1948). Various attempts have been made to overcom...

Evaluation of bacteriological transport swabs.

Ten commercial transport swabs were evaluated for their ability to preserve bacteria for 24 and 48 hours. Microorganisms included ATCC strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobes and anaerobes. There was a wide variation in performance. Swabs using Amies plus charcoal medium or Stuart's medium had better recovery rates than those using Amies medium alone. The nature of the tips of the sw...

How to use... eye swabs.

Conjunctivitis is a very common presentation to general practitioners and general paediatricians. The investigation of conjunctivitis can be a significant cost to microbiology laboratories due to the high volume of samples that can be submitted, particularly from patients in the community. The key issue is to send eye swabs in clinical situations where it can make a difference to management, an...