Table 3 Overview of swabs included in the microbiome analysis.

From: Determination of nasal and oropharyngeal microbiomes in a multicenter population-based study – findings from Pretest 1 of the German National Cohort

 

Nasal swabs collected by certified personnel at the study center

Oropharyngeal swabs collected by certified personnel at the study center

Nasal swabs collected by study participants at home

Swab type

swab1*

swab2**

swab3***

swab1*

swab2**

swab3***

swab1*

swab2**

swab3***

No. of swabs

23

26

25

39

34

37

31

26

17

Total no. of swabs analyzed

74

110

74

  1. 313 samples originating from 258 individuals were analyzed. To avoid possible bias, a subset of analyses was performed on 258 samples comprising only one swab per individual.
  2. *Swab 1 – flocked nylon swab.
  3. **Swab 2 – rayon swab.
  4. ***Swab 3 – polyurethane tipped swab.
  5. Swab 4 (calcium alginate) was excluded because it had proven unsuitable during preanalytical processing (see Results).
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