Effectiveness and user experience of nose and throat swabbing techniques for SARS-CoV-2 detection: results from the UK COVID-19 National Testing Programme

Table 3 Pairwise comparison of the sensitivity of self-swabbing of anterior nares vs nose and throat

Study	N	TP	FN	p value
Overall
SS-AN-LFD4 Anterior nares	649	486	163
SS-NT-LFD1 Nose and throat	424	212	212	< 0.001
SS-NT-LFD3 Nose and throat	632	416	216	< 0.001
SS-AN-LFD1 Anterior nares	383	204	179	< 0.001
Viral concentration > 1 M
SS-AN-LFD4 Anterior nares	286	279	7
SS-NT-LFD1 Nose and throat	118	95	23	< 0.001
SS-NT-LFD3 Nose and throat	375	305	70	< 0.001
SS-AN-LFD1 Anterior nares	139	122	17	< 0.001
Viral concentration > 10 K–1 M
SS-AN-LFD4 Anterior nares	229	172	57
SS-NT-LFD1 Nose and throat	189	103	86	< 0.001
SS-NT-LFD3 Nose and throat	207	113	94	< 0.001
SS-AN-LFD1 Anterior nares	131	70	61	< 0.001
Viral concentration < 10 K
SS-AN-LFD4 Anterior nares	122	27	95
SS-NT-LFD1 Nose and throat	117	14	103	0.037
SS-NT-LFD3 Nose and throat	45	9	36	0.767
SS-AN-LFD1 Anterior nares	113	12	101	0.018

p values derived from chi-sq tests comparing overall and viral concentration sensitivities of SS-AN-LFD4 with the other service evaluations
SS-AN-LFD4 SS of the anterior nares with the Innova LFD at participants’ homes (reference). SS-NT-LFD1 SS of the nose and throat with the Innova LFD. SS-NT-LFD3 SS of the nose and throat with the Innova LFD. SS-AN-LFD1 SS of the anterior nares with the Orient Gene LFD
AN anterior nares, CI confidence interval, FN false negative, LFD lateral flow device, NT nose and throat, SS self-swabbing, TP true positive

ISSN: 2731-913X