{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T02:05:21Z","timestamp":1777860321071,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,1]],"date-time":"2025-11-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761955200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["International Journal of Risk &amp; Safety in Medicine"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, was first identified in China in December 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide, primarily affecting the respiratory system. Although RT-PCR on nasopharyngeal swabs is the standard diagnostic method, emerging evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 RNA may be detected in rectal swabs even if respiratory samples test negative.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To assess the ability of rectal swabs to detect SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding in participants with negative nasopharyngeal swabs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Adult patients scheduled for colonoscopy at Mater Dei Hospital between June 2020 and April 2021 were enrolled. All participants had a confirmed negative nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR within 72\u00a0h before enrolment and provided informed consent. Data on demographics, epidemiology and clinical symptoms were collected through structured interviews and medical record reviews. Prior to colonoscopy, rectal swabs were obtained and all samples were processed following standardised laboratory protocols.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      200 participants were enrolled. None of the patients had prior COVID-19 history. 7.5% (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 15) tested positive on rectal swabs despite having a negative nasopharyngeal swab in the preceding 72\u00a0h.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>While combining nasopharyngeal and rectal swab sampling may improve COVID-19 diagnosis, routine use of both methods might not be cost-effective. Nonetheless, rectal swabs could prove beneficial for symptomatic patients with negative nasopharyngeal results or those with known exposure to COVID-19.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/09246479251394918","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,1]],"date-time":"2025-11-01T16:46:11Z","timestamp":1762015571000},"page":"114-119","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Rectal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with negative COVID-19 nasopharyngeal RT-PCR test"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"37","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9415-9578","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Svetlana Doris","family":"Brincat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Matthew","family":"Sammut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Neville","family":"Spiteri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Graziella","family":"Zahra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christopher","family":"Barbara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3373-0478","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Victor","family":"Grech","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jo-Etienne","family":"Abela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Charles","family":"Cini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Dei Hospital"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_5_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11596-023-2797-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1055\/a-1490-9234"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1055\/a-1155-6229"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2020.03.072"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2020.04.027"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-1253(20)30083-2"},{"issue":"6","key":"e_1_3_5_8_2","first-page":"e2010971","article-title":"Prevalence of fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"3","author":"Parasa S","year":"2020","unstructured":"Parasa S, Desai M, Thoguluva Chandrasekar V, et al. 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