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7014003 
Journal Article 
Use of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in the diagnosis of SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) 
Ryan, DJ; Toomey, S; Madden, SF; Casey, M; Breathnach, OS; Morris, PG; Grogan, L; Branagan, P; Costello, RW; De Barra, E; Hurley, K; Gunaratnam, C; Mcelvaney, NG; Obrien, ME; Sulaiman, I; Morgan, RK; Hennessy, BT; , 
2020 
1 
Thorax
ISSN: 0040-6376
EISSN: 1468-3296 
76 
1 
86-88 
English 
33097604 
WOS:000608393000015 
False negatives from nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) using reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) in SARS-CoV-2 are high. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) contains lower respiratory droplets that may improve detection. We performed EBC RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 genes (E, S, N, ORF1ab) on NPS-positive (n=16) and NPS-negative/clinically positive COVID-19 patients (n=15) using two commercial assays. EBC detected SARS-CoV-2 in 93.5% (29/31) using the four genes. Pre-SARS-CoV-2 era controls (n=14) were negative. EBC was positive in NPS negative/clinically positive patients in 66.6% (10/15) using the identical E and S (E/S) gene assay used for NPS, 73.3% (11/15) using the N/ORF1ab assay and 14/15 (93.3%) combined. 
exhaled airway markers; respiratory infection; viral infection