A COVID-19 nasal swab test had punctured a US woman’s brain lining and caused fluid to leak through her nose, putting her life in danger due to an infection, doctors reported in a medical journal Thursday.
The doctor added that the 44-year-old woman had an undiagnosed condition that led to the injury.
While her underlying conditions means that the Nasal Swab Test is risk-free or has low risk, this shows how professionals should take care to follow testing protocols closely, Jarrett Walsh, senior author of the paper that appeared in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, told AFP.
Walsh said he believes the symptoms she developed were a result of irritation to the lining of the brain.If the problem hadn’t been treated, she could have developed a potentially life-threatening brain infection from bacteria that travelled up the nose or air could have entered the skull and placed excess pressure on the brain.People who’ve had extensive sinus or skull base surgery should consider requesting oral testing if available, he added.
“It underscores the necessity of adequate training of those performing the test and the need for vigilance after the test has been performed,” added ear, nose and throat specialist Dennis Kraus of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who wasn’t involved in the paper.
