Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled breath from non-hospitalized COVID-19-infected individuals

Cæcilie Leding; Julia Skov; Katrine Uhrbrand; Jan Gorm Lisby; Katrine Pedersbæk Hansen; Thomas Benfield; Louise Katrine Duncan

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-15243-1

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled breath from non-hospitalized COVID-19-infected individuals

Cæcilie Leding^*, Julia Skov, Katrine Uhrbrand, Jan Gorm Lisby, Katrine Pedersbæk Hansen, Thomas Benfield, Louise Katrine Duncan

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

8 Citationer (Scopus)

8 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The diagnosis of COVID-19 is based on detection of SARS-CoV-2 in oro-/nasopharyngel swabs, but due to discomfort and minor risk during the swab procedure, detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been investigated in other biological matrixes. In this proof-of-concept study, individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection performed a daily air sample for five days. Air samples were obtained through a non-invasive electrostatic air sampler. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was determined with qRT-PCR. The association of positive samples with different exposures was evaluated through mixed-effect models. We obtained 665 air samples from 111 included participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, 52 individuals (46.8%) had at least one positive air sample, and 129 (19.4%) air samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Participants with symptoms or a symptom duration ≤ four days had significantly higher odds of having a positive air sample. Cycle threshold values were significantly lower in samples obtained ≤ 4 days from symptom onset. Neither variant of SARS-CoV-2 nor method of air sampling were associated with a positive air sample. We demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 is detectable in human breath by electrostatic air sampling with the highest detection rate closest to symptom onset. We suggest further evaluation of the air sampling technique to increase sensitivity.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	11151
Tidsskrift	Scientific Reports
Vol/bind	12
ISSN	2045-2322
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15243-1
Status	Udgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
We wish to thank Karsten Brandt Andersen from AeroCollect A/S, for method development, and Thomas Kallemose from Department of Clinical Research, Copenhagen University Hospital-Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark, for statistical support.

Funding Information:
This work has been financed by The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

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10.1038/s41598-022-15243-1Licens: CC BY

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Citationsformater

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title = "Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled breath from non-hospitalized COVID-19-infected individuals",

abstract = "The diagnosis of COVID-19 is based on detection of SARS-CoV-2 in oro-/nasopharyngel swabs, but due to discomfort and minor risk during the swab procedure, detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been investigated in other biological matrixes. In this proof-of-concept study, individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection performed a daily air sample for five days. Air samples were obtained through a non-invasive electrostatic air sampler. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was determined with qRT-PCR. The association of positive samples with different exposures was evaluated through mixed-effect models. We obtained 665 air samples from 111 included participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, 52 individuals (46.8%) had at least one positive air sample, and 129 (19.4%) air samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Participants with symptoms or a symptom duration ≤ four days had significantly higher odds of having a positive air sample. Cycle threshold values were significantly lower in samples obtained ≤ 4 days from symptom onset. Neither variant of SARS-CoV-2 nor method of air sampling were associated with a positive air sample. We demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 is detectable in human breath by electrostatic air sampling with the highest detection rate closest to symptom onset. We suggest further evaluation of the air sampling technique to increase sensitivity.",

author = "C{\ae}cilie Leding and Julia Skov and Katrine Uhrbrand and Lisby, {Jan Gorm} and Hansen, {Katrine Pedersb{\ae}k} and Thomas Benfield and Duncan, {Louise Katrine}",

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AU - Leding, Cæcilie

AU - Skov, Julia

AU - Uhrbrand, Katrine

AU - Lisby, Jan Gorm

AU - Hansen, Katrine Pedersbæk

AU - Benfield, Thomas

AU - Duncan, Louise Katrine

PY - 2022

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N2 - The diagnosis of COVID-19 is based on detection of SARS-CoV-2 in oro-/nasopharyngel swabs, but due to discomfort and minor risk during the swab procedure, detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been investigated in other biological matrixes. In this proof-of-concept study, individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection performed a daily air sample for five days. Air samples were obtained through a non-invasive electrostatic air sampler. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was determined with qRT-PCR. The association of positive samples with different exposures was evaluated through mixed-effect models. We obtained 665 air samples from 111 included participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, 52 individuals (46.8%) had at least one positive air sample, and 129 (19.4%) air samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Participants with symptoms or a symptom duration ≤ four days had significantly higher odds of having a positive air sample. Cycle threshold values were significantly lower in samples obtained ≤ 4 days from symptom onset. Neither variant of SARS-CoV-2 nor method of air sampling were associated with a positive air sample. We demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 is detectable in human breath by electrostatic air sampling with the highest detection rate closest to symptom onset. We suggest further evaluation of the air sampling technique to increase sensitivity.

AB - The diagnosis of COVID-19 is based on detection of SARS-CoV-2 in oro-/nasopharyngel swabs, but due to discomfort and minor risk during the swab procedure, detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been investigated in other biological matrixes. In this proof-of-concept study, individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection performed a daily air sample for five days. Air samples were obtained through a non-invasive electrostatic air sampler. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was determined with qRT-PCR. The association of positive samples with different exposures was evaluated through mixed-effect models. We obtained 665 air samples from 111 included participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, 52 individuals (46.8%) had at least one positive air sample, and 129 (19.4%) air samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Participants with symptoms or a symptom duration ≤ four days had significantly higher odds of having a positive air sample. Cycle threshold values were significantly lower in samples obtained ≤ 4 days from symptom onset. Neither variant of SARS-CoV-2 nor method of air sampling were associated with a positive air sample. We demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 is detectable in human breath by electrostatic air sampling with the highest detection rate closest to symptom onset. We suggest further evaluation of the air sampling technique to increase sensitivity.

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DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-15243-1

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JO - Scientific Reports

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