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Test, test, test - a complication of testing for coronavirus disease 2019 with nasal swabs
Okonkwo, Okechukwu
Okonkwo, Okechukwu
Glos Author
Date
2020-07-28
Journal Title
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Type
Journal Article
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Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019, a highly transmissible respiratory infection, has created a public health crisis of global magnitude. The mainstay of diagnostic testing for coronavirus disease 2019 is molecular polymerase chain reaction testing of a respiratory specimen, obtained with a viral swab. As the incidence of new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 increases exponentially, the use of viral swabs to collect nasopharyngeal specimens is anticipated to increase drastically.
Case report: This paper draws attention to a complication of viral swab testing in the nasopharynx and describes the premature engagement of a viral swab breakpoint, resulting in impaction in the nasal cavity.
Conclusion: This case highlights a possible design flaw of the viral swab when used to collect nasopharyngeal specimens, which then requires an aerosol-generating procedure in a high-risk patient to be performed. The paper outlines a safe technique of nasal foreign body removal in a suspected coronavirus disease 2019 patient and suggests alternative testing materials.
Citation
Mughal, Z., Luff, E., Okonkwo, O., & Hall, C. E. J. (2020). Test, test, test - a complication of testing for coronavirus disease 2019 with nasal swabs. The Journal of laryngology and otology, 134(7), 646–649. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215120001425
Usage rights
CC BY 4.0