Detection of HCV-RNA in Cerumen of Chronically HCV-Infected Patients

Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in the Cerumen of COVID-19-Positive Patients

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the cerumen of patients with COVID-19.

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care pandemic hospital. Sixty COVID-19 patients with cerumen in their external auditory canals were included in the study. Swabs were taken from the external auditory canal of the patients by an experienced otolaryngologist with the test swab. Sampling was done by rotating the sample swab 360° 10 times in each external auditory canal for a total of 20 times. After collection, swabs were placed into 2 mL of the sterile viral transport medium (various manufacturers), then transported and tested as soon as possible after collection.

RESULTS

SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in the cerumen polymerase chain reaction (PCR) samples of any of the 60 patients with positive nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs.

CONCLUSION

Cerumen cleaning is one of the most common procedures performed by otolaryngologists, and care should be taken during the procedure or due to the possibility of infection from the resulting contaminants. The cerumen contains the secretions of the glands in the external auditory canal and may contain certain pathogens that are actively found in the body. The presence of hepatitis B virus in the cerumen was examined and isolated in the cerumen. In our study, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the cerumen was evaluated in SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive patients. SARS-CoV-2 virus was not detected in the cerumen samples of any of the patients.

SARS-CoV-2 Presence in the Saliva, Tears, and Cerumen of COVID-19 Patients

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

The emergence of a new coronavirus strain (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 from China led to a global pandemic. The lack of herd immunity against this virus and the possibility of viral spread from asymptomatic individuals is still a major challenge for the prevention of viral transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of the virus in different bodily secretions as a potential source of viral spread among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross Sectional Study.

METHODS

The study included 38 COVID-19 patients with a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result for SARS-CoV-2, obtained from the combined nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal swab samples. Saliva, tear, and cerumen samples were taken from the patients within 72 hours of the first RT-PCR test. SARS-CoV-2 N1 and N2 gene regions were studied with single-step RT-PCR in all samples.

RESULTS

Among the studied samples, the highest positivity rate was in saliva (76.3%) followed by tears (55.3%) and cerumen (39.5%). Viral load in saliva was also significantly higher compared to tears and cerumen (P < .001), while there was no significant difference between tears and cerumen. Higher viral load in combined nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal swab samples was associated with higher viral load in tears, but not in saliva or cerumen. Half of the saliva, tear, and cerumen samples obtained from asymptomatic patients contained SARS-CoV-2 genome.

CONCLUSIONS

The virus was detected in the saliva, tears, and cerumen samples of both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The potential role of these bodily fluids on viral spread needs to be studied.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

4 Laryngoscope, 131:E1677-E1682, 2021.

Insights into cerumen and application in diagnostics: past, present and future prospective

Cerumen or earwax is an emerging bio-fluid in clinical diagnosis that has been very little exploited during the past decades in spite of its high diagnostic potential. It is highly abundant in diagnostic biomarkers such as genetic material, lipids, proteins, chemical elements, internal and external metabolites (e.g. hormones, volatile organic compounds, amino acids, xenobiotics etc.) reaching earwax from the blood circulation. Thus, it is able to reflect not only physiology, pathophysiology of the human body but can also detect recent and long term exposure to environmental pollutants, without the need of invasive blood tests and in the same time overcoming many disadvantages faced by using other diagnostic biological fluids. This review discusses the biology, functions, chemistry of earwax, past and current approaches for the study of its chemical composition, emphasizing how a detected variation in its composition can offer information of high clinical value, which can be useful in diagnosis of many diseases such as metabolic disorders and tumours as well as in forensic applications. It also presents details about techniques of sample collection, storage, and analysis. Moreover, it highlights concerns about the use of earwax for diagnostic purposes, which should be addressed to make earwax diagnostics a reality in the future.

Does cerumen have a risk for transmission of HIV?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is mainly transmitted via sexual activity, mother-to-child transmission, and contact with body fluids, such as saliva and semen. Cerumen, however, has not been investigated for its capability to transmit HIV. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of cerumen for transmission of HIV infection. This study was conducted among 42 treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with positive HIV RNA and 27 HIV-infected patients with negative HIV RNA receiving antiviral treatment. Simultaneous blood samples were studied as positive controls. Sixty-nine prospectively collected cerumen specimens were analyzed for the presence of HIV RNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). None of the 69 cerumen specimens were positive for HIV RNA. These results conclude that cerumen in HIV-positive patients with or without antiretroviral therapy (ART) carry only an insignificant risk of transmission. However, standard infection control precautions should be applied carefully in all examinations and surgical operations of the ears.