| Summary: | Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is detected by reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) from respiratory specimens. This study compares throat washings (TW), nasopharyngeal swabs (NS) and oropharyngeal swabs (OS). A total of 102 samples from 34 adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were analysed by RT-qPCR with absolute quantification. The median concentrations and diagnostic sensitivities were <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>5</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>8</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>4</mn></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> copies/mL, 85% (NS), <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>4</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>4</mn></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, 79% (OS) and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>4</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>3</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>3</mn></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, 85% (TW). Concentration differences were significant between NS and TW (<i>P</i> = 0.019). Saliva (SA) was available from 21 patients (median <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>3</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>4</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>3</mn></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>). OS and TW can be considered for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, although with slightly lower concentrations.
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