Department of Dentistry, Periodontology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Head, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 21;14(1):19415. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-70429-z.
Vitamin D has shown antimicrobial effects. This study aimed to explore the antiviral effects of vitamin D3 on saliva samples collected from patients with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and compare saliva and swab results to aid in policy development. Saliva and swab samples were collected from adult patients with a positive test for COVID-19 at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah. Patients who were immunocompromised and pregnant and aged < 18 years were excluded. Vitamin D3 compound (100, 300, 800, and 1,200 IU) was added to the first saliva sample in the laboratory (n = 20); the rest of the swab specimens were compared with the saliva samples via real-time polymerase chain reaction. Of the 257 patients, 236 (94.8%) had positive saliva sample test results, 7 (2.8%) had errors, and 6 (2.4%) had negative results. Of the 236 positive tests, 235 (99.6%) had a cycle threshold (Ct) indicating strong positive reactions, and only one (Ct = 28.86) was weak. Among the 236 positive results, 235 (99.6%) exhibited robust positive reactions, indicating a substantial positive sample size. Thus, saliva might be a dependable alternative testing tool when obtaining swab samples from patients is inconvenient or challenging.
维生素 D 具有抗菌作用。本研究旨在探索维生素 D3 对从新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）患者采集的唾液样本的抗病毒作用，并比较唾液和拭子结果，以协助制定政策。从沙特阿拉伯吉达的法伊萨尔国王专科医院和研究中心接受 COVID-19 阳性检测的成年患者中采集了唾液和拭子样本。排除了免疫功能低下、孕妇和年龄<18 岁的患者。在实验室将维生素 D3 化合物（100、300、800 和 1200 IU）添加到第一份唾液样本中（n=20）；其余的拭子标本与唾液样本通过实时聚合酶链反应进行比较。在 257 名患者中，236 名（94.8%）唾液样本检测结果呈阳性，7 名（2.8%）出现错误，6 名（2.4%）结果呈阴性。在 236 次阳性检测中，235 次（99.6%）的循环阈值（Ct）指示强烈的阳性反应，只有一次（Ct=28.86）为弱阳性。在 236 个阳性结果中，235 个（99.6%）显示出强烈的阳性反应，表明样本数量较大。因此，当从患者中获取拭子样本不方便或具有挑战性时，唾液可能是一种可靠的替代检测工具。
