Conference abstract
Use of saliva for clinical or laboratory tests: patients´ views
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2022:13(35).03
Feb 2022.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2022.13.35.899
Archived on: 03 Feb 2022
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Patients´ views, saliva, samples for research, testing
Poster
Use of saliva for clinical or laboratory tests: patients´ views
Taye Jemilat Lasisi1,2,&, Folake Barakat Lawal3
1Departments of Physiology, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2Oral Pathology, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, 3Periodontology & Community Dentistry, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
&Corresponding author
Introduction: the purpose of this study was to assess the views of patients on the use saliva and other body fluids for clinical or laboratory analysis.
Methods: this was a cross sectional survey of 189 patients attending a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. Information was obtained from participants using pretested structured questionnaires and SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. Tests of associations between variables were determined using Chi-square. The level of significance was set at < 5%.
Results: the mean age was 33.9 (SD = 13.1) years. One hundred and fifty-one (79.9%) respondents were aware of the use of saliva for clinical or laboratory test. The majority (80.4%) agreed that saliva is easier to collect than other body fluids while 63 (33.3%) preferred to give saliva sample to blood (28.6%) and urine (27%) for clinical or laboratory tests; 100 (52.9%) believed it as the most convenient and comfortable sample to give. Only 22 (11.6%) had given saliva for clinical or laboratory test before. Ninety-nine (52.4%) indicated strong interest in donating saliva for a research study and a higher proportion of those aged 34 years or older were willing to do so compared to younger participants (p = 0.008).
Conclusion: this survey revealed that patients are aware of the use of saliva as well as its advantages over other body fluids for clinical or laboratory tests. However, its use in patients is still poorly exploited in our environment despite patients’ preference for it. Thus, healthcare providers need to be better informed of the patients’ opinions about saliva testing so as to device methods of improving its use in patients’ management.
Use of saliva for clinical or laboratory tests: patients´ views
Taye Jemilat Lasisi1,2,&, Folake Barakat Lawal3
1Departments of Physiology, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2Oral Pathology, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, 3Periodontology & Community Dentistry, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
&Corresponding author
Introduction: the purpose of this study was to assess the views of patients on the use saliva and other body fluids for clinical or laboratory analysis.
Methods: this was a cross sectional survey of 189 patients attending a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. Information was obtained from participants using pretested structured questionnaires and SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. Tests of associations between variables were determined using Chi-square. The level of significance was set at < 5%.
Results: the mean age was 33.9 (SD = 13.1) years. One hundred and fifty-one (79.9%) respondents were aware of the use of saliva for clinical or laboratory test. The majority (80.4%) agreed that saliva is easier to collect than other body fluids while 63 (33.3%) preferred to give saliva sample to blood (28.6%) and urine (27%) for clinical or laboratory tests; 100 (52.9%) believed it as the most convenient and comfortable sample to give. Only 22 (11.6%) had given saliva for clinical or laboratory test before. Ninety-nine (52.4%) indicated strong interest in donating saliva for a research study and a higher proportion of those aged 34 years or older were willing to do so compared to younger participants (p = 0.008).
Conclusion: this survey revealed that patients are aware of the use of saliva as well as its advantages over other body fluids for clinical or laboratory tests. However, its use in patients is still poorly exploited in our environment despite patients’ preference for it. Thus, healthcare providers need to be better informed of the patients’ opinions about saliva testing so as to device methods of improving its use in patients’ management.
