U of M research team to test tears for COVID-19

A research team at the University of Minnesota Medical School will be studying whether COVID-19 can be diagnosed through tears.

If proven to be true, it could provide "a safer and less painful way" to collect samples from patients.

"Fast and reliable diagnosis of COVID-19 is a big issue in containing the disease in society, and the current way of collecting nasopharyngeal samples with swabs that go to the back of your nose is not an ideal way for a virus test," Dr. Hossein Nazari, who is leading the research team, said in a statement. "When a swab goes into your nose or throat, you reflexively want to sneeze or cough, which can spread the virus and put healthcare workers at risk to catch that virus. I started thinking about how we could improve COVID-19 diagnosis and what other body secretions could be acquired and tested to make a diagnosis. We know that viruses and bacteria can be present in tears, so it’s worth looking into."

To conduct the study, the research team will use microcapillary tubes commonly used to soak up blood after a finger prick to absorb the tears of test subjects.

To ensure positive tests, the research time will collect both tear samples and nasopharyngeal swab samples from each test subject.

The study will be successful if both tests come back positive at a similar rate, according to the team.