Ricerc@Sapienza

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing viral pandemic emergency. It has been reported up to 9% of reactivation in Covid-19 patients after discharge from hospital. Currently, diagnosis of Covid-19 infection is confirmed by RT-PCR technique for SARS-CoV-2 detection on nasopharyngeal (NP) swab with a sensitivity of approx 70%. False negative results may result from fluctuation of the presence of the virus in the biological samples. Therefore, novel diagnostic tools, able to identify the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 also in cases with transient viral shedding may significantly improve the management and the chance to control virus spreading.
Objective: primary objective is to evaluate the efficacy of contact lens (CL) application for 7 days to identify the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in convalescent patients, even in the presence of two consecutive negative NP swabs. Secondary objectives include: i. evaluation of sensitivity and specificity of nasal swab removed after 7 days to identify the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in convalescent patients; ii. sensitivity and specificity of SARS-CoV-2 detection on salivary and tears samples compared with standard NP swabs.
Methods: Fifty patients with diagnosis of Covid-19 hospitalized in the COVID-Center at Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico Umberto I- Sapienza University, will be included in the study. All patients are waiting for NP swab to confirm Covid-19 recovery. Tear and nasal secretion will be collected during 7 days by CL and nasal swab application to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of these novel tools for the confirmation of SARS-Covid-2 recovery.
Expected results: The results of the project will demonstrate if simple, cheap and easy to use devices, such as CL and nasal swab, may improve diagnostic methods and avoiding false negative results. Moreover, the results of this study will pave the way to the use of these innovative diagnostic tools in other challenging infections.