Background Infectious disease coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and it mainly affects the upper respiratory tract. The gold standard for its diagnosis is real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) performed on a nasopharyngeal swab. In contrast, testing saliva has significant advantages as a diagnostic method. Material and Methods We searched for articles evaluating saliva as a diagnostic method for COVID-19 on the PUBMED/MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE, and SCIELO platforms. We initially found 233 articles and 20 were selected for inclusion following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol: 18 cross-sectional studies and 2 case reports, including 8 from America, 8 from Asia, and 4 from Europe. The studies evaluated the presence of viral RNA, IgG, IgM, and IgA in samples of unstimulated saliva from adults with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The vast majority of the studies performed RT-qPCR on the saliva samples and compared the results with the gold standard (a nasopharyngeal swab of the same patient). Results Saliva samples analyzed by RT-qPCR, reverse transcription isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), spectroscopy, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) offer high sensitivity to detect SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of the disease and among asymptomatic patients as compared to nasopharyngeal swab RT-qPCR. In addition, the self-collection of saliva offers the possibility of receiving telemedicine instructions to carry out the test, reducing the risk of contagion. Conclusions The diagnosis of COVID-19 through saliva is sensitive, non-invasive, and is of low risk for the healthcare professionals. However, further studies are recommended to validate its clinical use. Key words: Saliva, SARS-CoV, COVID19, Salivas.
【초록키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, IgG, IgM, review, Saliva, coronavirus, Europe, COVID19, SARS-CoV, healthcare professionals, Diagnosis, risk, SARS-CoV-2 virus, ELISA, Asia, Nasopharyngeal swab, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, polymerase chain reaction, RT-LAMP, sensitivity, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, RT-qPCR, cross-sectional study, Viral, IgA, Patient, gold, Reporting, reverse transcription, isothermal amplification, Viral RNA, Coronavirus 2019, respiratory, Cross-sectional studies, disease, upper respiratory tract, asymptomatic patients, early stage, asymptomatic patient, saliva sample, Diagnostic method, Contagion, systematic reviews, Chain Reaction, Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, Clinical use, Non-invasive, Spectroscopy, enzyme, gold standard, item, early stages, article, saliva samples, America, offer, Affect, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, polymerase chain, Result, selected, analyzed, performed, detect, caused, addition, the disease, evaluated, receiving, majority, searched, reducing, diagnosis of COVID-19, for inclusion, Material and Method, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 【제목키워드】 Diagnosis, systematic review, complementary,