Vesely Pavol, Novakova Elena, Stubna Michal, Trnka Michal, Jurenova Denisa, Lyskova Darina, Furda Robert, Plesnikova Paulina, Himic Vratko, Furdova Alena
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, (Klinika oftalmológie LFUK a UNB), Hospital Ruzinov, Ružinovská 6, 826 06, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
J Ophthalmic Inflamm Infect. 2022 Feb 19;12(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s12348-022-00285-3.
The purpose of this article is to evaluate the positivity of conjunctival sac swab by PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) test in COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19) patients.
Inclusion criteria of our study were COVID-19 patients hospitalized during March 2021 in inpatient wards at University Hospitals in towns Bratislava and Zilina, Slovakia. The conjunctival sac swabs collected by four ophthalmologists were stored for 24 h, then analyzed in the laboratory of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University, Slovakia. The sampling apparatus, used for conjunctival sac swab, was the Dacron polyester swab.
We examined one group of 302 COVID-19 patients, 168 Male (56%) and 134 Female (44%). The patients' mean age was 66.3 ± 13.66 years, ranging from 25 to 96 years, and the mean length of hospital stay in our patients with a nasopharyngeal positive PCR test was 7.33 ± 4.76, from 2 to 24 days. The PCR tests from the conjunctival sac swabs were positive in 33 patients (11%), negative in 259 patients (86%), and ten patients (3%) were with the unclear result. In the group of 33 positive patients were 17 males with a mean age of 74.6 ± 13.59 years and 16 females with a mean age of 70.63 ± 14.17 years. The cycle threshold (C) values differed significantly between conjunctival sac swabs from the nasopharynx and the conjunctiva. Medians of the values were 25.1 (14.1, 32.1) and 31.5 (22.6, 36.6) (P < 0.001), respectively.
This study affirmed that in COVID-19 patients the SARS-CoV-2 was detectable with PCR test in conjunctival sac swab, but the positivity rate was only about one to ten cases (11%).
本文旨在评估聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测对新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）患者结膜囊拭子的检测阳性率。
我们的研究纳入标准为2021年3月在斯洛伐克布拉迪斯拉发和日利纳镇大学医院住院病房的COVID-19患者。由四名眼科医生采集的结膜囊拭子保存24小时，然后在斯洛伐克马丁市康美纽斯大学耶塞纽斯医学院微生物学和免疫学系实验室进行分析。用于结膜囊拭子采样的器具是涤纶聚酯拭子。
我们检查了一组302例COVID-19患者，其中男性168例（56%），女性134例（44%）。患者的平均年龄为66.3±13.66岁，年龄范围为25至96岁，鼻咽PCR检测呈阳性的患者在我院的平均住院时间为7.33±4.76天，范围为2至24天。结膜囊拭子的PCR检测结果为33例阳性（11%），259例阴性（86%），10例（3%）结果不明确。在33例阳性患者组中，男性17例，平均年龄74.6±13.59岁，女性16例，平均年龄70.63±14.17岁。鼻咽和结膜的结膜囊拭子的循环阈值（C）值差异显著。这些值的中位数分别为25.1（14.1，32.1）和31.5（22.6，36.6）（P<0.001）。
本研究证实，在COVID-19患者中，通过PCR检测可在结膜囊拭子中检测到严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2），但阳性率仅约为1%至10%（11%）。
