FDA: Patients collecting nasal samples at care facilities need clear instructions

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday recommended that health care providers provide written or video step-by-step instructions, in addition to verbal instructions, to patients who are self-collecting anterior nares (nasal) samples for COVID-19 testing in a health care setting.

Without clear instructions, patients “may not collect an adequate sample for testing, which may decrease the sensitivity of the test,” the agency said.

Examples of written instructions are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Audere, a nonprofit that has granted a general right of reference to use their instructions at a testing site, FDA said.