A comparison of cotton-tipped and nylon flocked swabs for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from oropharyngeal samples

Tiffany R. Phillips; Marjan Tabesh; Christopher K. Fairley; Kate Maddaford; Shivani Pasricha; Rebecca Wigan; Vesna De Petra; Deborah A. Williamson; Eric P.F. Chow

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2021.115455

A comparison of cotton-tipped and nylon flocked swabs for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from oropharyngeal samples

Tiffany R. Phillips^*, Marjan Tabesh, Christopher K. Fairley, Kate Maddaford, Shivani Pasricha, Rebecca Wigan, Vesna De Petra, Deborah A. Williamson, Eric P.F. Chow^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Our aim was to determine if there was a difference in culture positivity for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea when sampling using a nylon-flocked versus cotton-tipped swab. We collected FLOQSwabs and cotton-tipped swabs from individuals aged ≥ 18 years who had untreated oropharyngeal gonorrhoea detected by NAAT between November 2019-June 2020.Of 78 participants, 32 (41.0%) were culture-positive for N. gonorrhoeae from either swab. Of these 32, 29 (90.6%, 95%CI: 75.0%-98.0%) were positive on both swabs, one (3.1%, 95%CI: 0.0%-16.2%) tested positive on FLOQSwab only and two (6.2%, 95%CI: 0.1%-20.8%) tested positive on cotton-tipped swabs only. There was moderate agreement between the swabs in the amount of bacterial growth (Cohen's Kappa (k)=0.745; 95%CI: 0.622-0.868, p<0.001). Our results showed that the proportion of positive results was comparable using the FLOQSwabs versus the cotton-tipped swabs for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea culture.

Original language	English
Article number	115455
Journal	Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Volume	101
Issue number	3
Early online date	10 Jul 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2021.115455
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2021

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Clinical Practice
FLOQSwab
Oropharyngeal Gonorrhoea

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10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2021.115455

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Phillips, T. R., Tabesh, M., Fairley, C. K., Maddaford, K., Pasricha, S., Wigan, R., De Petra, V., Williamson, D. A., & Chow, E. P. F. (2021). A comparison of cotton-tipped and nylon flocked swabs for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from oropharyngeal samples. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 101(3), Article 115455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2021.115455

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title = "A comparison of cotton-tipped and nylon flocked swabs for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from oropharyngeal samples",

abstract = "Our aim was to determine if there was a difference in culture positivity for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea when sampling using a nylon-flocked versus cotton-tipped swab. We collected FLOQSwabs and cotton-tipped swabs from individuals aged ≥ 18 years who had untreated oropharyngeal gonorrhoea detected by NAAT between November 2019-June 2020.Of 78 participants, 32 (41.0\%) were culture-positive for N. gonorrhoeae from either swab. Of these 32, 29 (90.6\%, 95\%CI: 75.0\%-98.0\%) were positive on both swabs, one (3.1\%, 95\%CI: 0.0\%-16.2\%) tested positive on FLOQSwab only and two (6.2\%, 95\%CI: 0.1\%-20.8\%) tested positive on cotton-tipped swabs only. There was moderate agreement between the swabs in the amount of bacterial growth (Cohen's Kappa (k)=0.745; 95\%CI: 0.622-0.868, p<0.001). Our results showed that the proportion of positive results was comparable using the FLOQSwabs versus the cotton-tipped swabs for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea culture.",

keywords = "Clinical Practice, FLOQSwab, Oropharyngeal Gonorrhoea",

author = "Phillips, \{Tiffany R.\} and Marjan Tabesh and Fairley, \{Christopher K.\} and Kate Maddaford and Shivani Pasricha and Rebecca Wigan and \{De Petra\}, Vesna and Williamson, \{Deborah A.\} and Chow, \{Eric P.F.\}",

note = "EPFC and DAW are supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Emerging Leadership Investigator Grant ( GNT1172873 and GNT1174555 , respectively). CKF is supported by an Australian NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant ( GNT1172900 ).",

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AU - Phillips, Tiffany R.

AU - Tabesh, Marjan

AU - Fairley, Christopher K.

AU - Maddaford, Kate

AU - Pasricha, Shivani

AU - Wigan, Rebecca

AU - De Petra, Vesna

AU - Williamson, Deborah A.

AU - Chow, Eric P.F.

N1 - EPFC and DAW are supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Emerging Leadership Investigator Grant ( GNT1172873 and GNT1174555 , respectively). CKF is supported by an Australian NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant ( GNT1172900 ).

PY - 2021/11/1

Y1 - 2021/11/1

N2 - Our aim was to determine if there was a difference in culture positivity for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea when sampling using a nylon-flocked versus cotton-tipped swab. We collected FLOQSwabs and cotton-tipped swabs from individuals aged ≥ 18 years who had untreated oropharyngeal gonorrhoea detected by NAAT between November 2019-June 2020.Of 78 participants, 32 (41.0%) were culture-positive for N. gonorrhoeae from either swab. Of these 32, 29 (90.6%, 95%CI: 75.0%-98.0%) were positive on both swabs, one (3.1%, 95%CI: 0.0%-16.2%) tested positive on FLOQSwab only and two (6.2%, 95%CI: 0.1%-20.8%) tested positive on cotton-tipped swabs only. There was moderate agreement between the swabs in the amount of bacterial growth (Cohen's Kappa (k)=0.745; 95%CI: 0.622-0.868, p<0.001). Our results showed that the proportion of positive results was comparable using the FLOQSwabs versus the cotton-tipped swabs for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea culture.

AB - Our aim was to determine if there was a difference in culture positivity for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea when sampling using a nylon-flocked versus cotton-tipped swab. We collected FLOQSwabs and cotton-tipped swabs from individuals aged ≥ 18 years who had untreated oropharyngeal gonorrhoea detected by NAAT between November 2019-June 2020.Of 78 participants, 32 (41.0%) were culture-positive for N. gonorrhoeae from either swab. Of these 32, 29 (90.6%, 95%CI: 75.0%-98.0%) were positive on both swabs, one (3.1%, 95%CI: 0.0%-16.2%) tested positive on FLOQSwab only and two (6.2%, 95%CI: 0.1%-20.8%) tested positive on cotton-tipped swabs only. There was moderate agreement between the swabs in the amount of bacterial growth (Cohen's Kappa (k)=0.745; 95%CI: 0.622-0.868, p<0.001). Our results showed that the proportion of positive results was comparable using the FLOQSwabs versus the cotton-tipped swabs for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea culture.

KW - Clinical Practice

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KW - Oropharyngeal Gonorrhoea

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JO - Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease

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ER -

A comparison of cotton-tipped and nylon flocked swabs for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from oropharyngeal samples

Abstract

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Keywords

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