A prospective study of children (age 0–18) testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, with 52 paired samples of both nasal and oropharyngeal specimens taken on admission and every 1-3 days during hospitalization.
Overall, 24 of 26 nasal specimens resulted positive, whereas 20 of 26 oropharyngeal specimens resulted positive. CT values of the first simultaneous collected materials were always lower in nasal specimens than in the paired oropharyngeal ones.
Results support the superiority of nasal over oropharyngeal swab collection, determined by a significantly higher positivity rate and a significantly higher mean viral load on nasal samples.