Cargando…

Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge

Nasopharyngeal swabs have been widely to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing is a generally safe and well-tolerated procedure, but numerous complications have been reported in the media. Therefore, the present study aimed to review and document...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kim, Dai Hyun, Kim, Dasom, Moon, Jee Won, Chae, Sung-Won, Rhyu, Im Joo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8938608/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35315599
http://dx.doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e88
_version_ 1784672582200459264
author Kim, Dai Hyun
Kim, Dasom
Moon, Jee Won
Chae, Sung-Won
Rhyu, Im Joo
author_facet Kim, Dai Hyun
Kim, Dasom
Moon, Jee Won
Chae, Sung-Won
Rhyu, Im Joo
author_sort Kim, Dai Hyun
collection PubMed
description Nasopharyngeal swabs have been widely to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing is a generally safe and well-tolerated procedure, but numerous complications have been reported in the media. Therefore, the present study aimed to review and document adverse events and suggest procedural references to minimize preventable but often underestimated risks. A total of 27 articles were selected for the review of 842 related documents in PubMed, Embase, and KoreaMed. The complications related to nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing were reported to be rarely happened, ranging from 0.0012 to 0.026%. Frequently documented adverse events were retained swabs, epistaxis, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage, often associated with high-risk factors, including severe septal deviations, pre-existing skull base defects, and previous sinus or transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. Appropriate techniques based on sufficient anatomical knowledge are mandatory for clinicians to perform nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing. The nasal floor can be predicted by the line between the nostril and external ear canal. For safe testing, the angle of swab insertion in the nasal passage should remain within 30° of the nasal floor. The swab was gently inserted along the nasal septum just above the nasal floor to the nasopharynx and remained on the nasopharynx for several seconds before removal. Forceful insertion should be attempted, and alternative examinations should be considered, especially in vulnerable patients. In conclusion, patients and clinicians should be aware of rare but possible complications and associated high-risk factors. The suggested procedural pearls enable more comfortable and safe nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing for both clinicians and patients.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8938608
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-89386082022-03-31 Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge Kim, Dai Hyun Kim, Dasom Moon, Jee Won Chae, Sung-Won Rhyu, Im Joo J Korean Med Sci Review Article Nasopharyngeal swabs have been widely to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing is a generally safe and well-tolerated procedure, but numerous complications have been reported in the media. Therefore, the present study aimed to review and document adverse events and suggest procedural references to minimize preventable but often underestimated risks. A total of 27 articles were selected for the review of 842 related documents in PubMed, Embase, and KoreaMed. The complications related to nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing were reported to be rarely happened, ranging from 0.0012 to 0.026%. Frequently documented adverse events were retained swabs, epistaxis, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage, often associated with high-risk factors, including severe septal deviations, pre-existing skull base defects, and previous sinus or transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. Appropriate techniques based on sufficient anatomical knowledge are mandatory for clinicians to perform nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing. The nasal floor can be predicted by the line between the nostril and external ear canal. For safe testing, the angle of swab insertion in the nasal passage should remain within 30° of the nasal floor. The swab was gently inserted along the nasal septum just above the nasal floor to the nasopharynx and remained on the nasopharynx for several seconds before removal. Forceful insertion should be attempted, and alternative examinations should be considered, especially in vulnerable patients. In conclusion, patients and clinicians should be aware of rare but possible complications and associated high-risk factors. The suggested procedural pearls enable more comfortable and safe nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing for both clinicians and patients. The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 2022-03-10 /pmc/articles/PMC8938608/ /pubmed/35315599 http://dx.doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e88 Text en © 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Review Article
Kim, Dai Hyun
Kim, Dasom
Moon, Jee Won
Chae, Sung-Won
Rhyu, Im Joo
Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge
title Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge
title_full Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge
title_fullStr Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge
title_full_unstemmed Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge
title_short Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge
title_sort complications of nasopharyngeal swabs and safe procedures for covid-19 testing based on anatomical knowledge
topic Review Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8938608/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35315599
http://dx.doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e88
work_keys_str_mv AT kimdaihyun complicationsofnasopharyngealswabsandsafeproceduresforcovid19testingbasedonanatomicalknowledge
AT kimdasom complicationsofnasopharyngealswabsandsafeproceduresforcovid19testingbasedonanatomicalknowledge
AT moonjeewon complicationsofnasopharyngealswabsandsafeproceduresforcovid19testingbasedonanatomicalknowledge
AT chaesungwon complicationsofnasopharyngealswabsandsafeproceduresforcovid19testingbasedonanatomicalknowledge
AT rhyuimjoo complicationsofnasopharyngealswabsandsafeproceduresforcovid19testingbasedonanatomicalknowledge