Alexandria, Va., USA - Walter Siqueira, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, presented the poster "Self-collected Saliva and Courier Service - A Feasible Diagnostic Strategy for COVID-19" at the virtual 99th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 45th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), on July 21-24, 2021.
Saliva has been proposed as a convenient and cost-effective biofluid for diagnostic purposes and in vitro studies have shown that the addition of stabilizers to saliva preserves it for up to 7-10 days at room temperature, but its translational application has never been tested. In this study Siqueira, CADR President and 2019 recipient of the IADR Distinguished Scientist Salivary Research Award, and colleagues tested the feasibility of saliva self-collection and large-scale mailing to a laboratory for further analysis in a sample of subjects distributed widely across Canada. Licensed dentists were enrolled in a prospective cohort study and were asked to collect 1.5 mL of saliva every four weeks for a 12-month period, place the sample tube in a biohazard transportation bag and ship the sample to the University of Saskatchewan.
The results of this ongoing study demonstrate the feasibility of saliva self-collection and mailing from multiple distant areas of Canada to a laboratory for valid analyses. This is the first study dealing with a large-scale saliva collection and shipping protocol and this approach represents an important strategy for the development of timely salivary diagnostic platforms.
View this poster presentation in the IADR General Session Virtual Experience Platform.