Garden House Queen
10-02-2020, 03:53 AM
COVID-19 nasal swab test caused brain fluid to leak from woman’s nose
When a woman became extremely sick after having surgery, no one could have imagined the cause was a standard nasal coronavirus test.
Rebekah Scanlan (https://www.news.com.au/the-team/rebekah-scanlan)
rebekahscanlan (http://twitter.com/rebekahscanlan)
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Australian health experts have changed their advice on using face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what you need to know - and the most effective masks Aussies ca...
Anyone who has had a nasal coronavirus test will know it’s not pleasant.
But for one woman, the swab procedure turned out to be more than an uncomfortable tickle.
During a compulsory COVID-19 (https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus) test as part of an elective hernia repair, her brain was ruptured by the long cotton bud used to collect and test for the virus.
This caused cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – which is clear fluid that protects the brain and spinal cord – to leak.
The bizarre occurrence was only possible due to a rare and undiagnosed condition the woman had. Doctors in the US realised what had happened only after the woman, aged in her 40s, began complaining she was experiencing a runny nose, headache and neck stiffness.
She also had a metallic taste in her mouth and was suffering bouts of vomiting.
RELATED: Follow our live coronavirus coverage (https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/coronavirus-australia-live-victoria-qld-nsw-covid19-updates/live-coverage/fc08a9b85221e59c7914403a3d7e8100)
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6d91e393b3e08311af06e1f787058420?width=650
A COVID-19 nasal swab test caused brain fluid to leak from woman’s nose. Picture: JAMA Otolaryngology/University of Iowa Hospitals and ClinicsSource:Supplied
CT scans documented in the JAMA Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2771362?resultClick=1) journal showed a 1.8cm mass discovered inside her nose.
The mass turned out to be an encephalocele – a rare disorder where bones of the skull do not fuse completely. This creates a gap through which cerebral spinal fluid, brain tissue and the meninges (the membrane that covers the brain) can protrude into a sac-like formation.
The journal states the patient had likely had the condition for many years, but it had probably been misdiagnosed as sinus disease.
As a result, the unknowing health professional who administered the nasal swab to test for coronavirus had damaged this mass within her nose, causing the leakage of CSF.
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ecfcf85a4fa37e5a57b1c09b84f1336f?width=650
The test punctured a sac in the woman’s nose, caused by a rare skull disorder. Picture: JAMA Otolaryngology/University of Iowa Hospitals and ClinicsSource:Supplied
If too much brain fluid leaks out, the brain sags inside the head, putting pressure on parts of the skull and causing headaches, a condition known as spontaneous intracranial hypotension, National Organisation for Rare Disorders (https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/spontaneous-intracranial-hypotension/) states.
Thankfully, after doctors operated to reduce the mass, they were able to treat her undiagnosed condition with a soft skin graft and stop it protruding out of her skull.
“To our knowledge, this is the first report of an iatrogenic CSF leak after a nasal swab for COVID-19,” the report stated.
Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan (https://twitter.com/rebekahscanlan) | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au
https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/chartbeat/live/toppages/v3/?esi=true&host=news.com.au&limit=5§ion=lifestyle&sort_by=internal&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/trending&td_heading=trending in lifestyle&td_showcount=true&td_showimages=true&type=article
When a woman became extremely sick after having surgery, no one could have imagined the cause was a standard nasal coronavirus test.
Rebekah Scanlan (https://www.news.com.au/the-team/rebekah-scanlan)
rebekahscanlan (http://twitter.com/rebekahscanlan)
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Australian health experts have changed their advice on using face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what you need to know - and the most effective masks Aussies ca...
Anyone who has had a nasal coronavirus test will know it’s not pleasant.
But for one woman, the swab procedure turned out to be more than an uncomfortable tickle.
During a compulsory COVID-19 (https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus) test as part of an elective hernia repair, her brain was ruptured by the long cotton bud used to collect and test for the virus.
This caused cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – which is clear fluid that protects the brain and spinal cord – to leak.
The bizarre occurrence was only possible due to a rare and undiagnosed condition the woman had. Doctors in the US realised what had happened only after the woman, aged in her 40s, began complaining she was experiencing a runny nose, headache and neck stiffness.
She also had a metallic taste in her mouth and was suffering bouts of vomiting.
RELATED: Follow our live coronavirus coverage (https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/coronavirus-australia-live-victoria-qld-nsw-covid19-updates/live-coverage/fc08a9b85221e59c7914403a3d7e8100)
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6d91e393b3e08311af06e1f787058420?width=650
A COVID-19 nasal swab test caused brain fluid to leak from woman’s nose. Picture: JAMA Otolaryngology/University of Iowa Hospitals and ClinicsSource:Supplied
CT scans documented in the JAMA Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2771362?resultClick=1) journal showed a 1.8cm mass discovered inside her nose.
The mass turned out to be an encephalocele – a rare disorder where bones of the skull do not fuse completely. This creates a gap through which cerebral spinal fluid, brain tissue and the meninges (the membrane that covers the brain) can protrude into a sac-like formation.
The journal states the patient had likely had the condition for many years, but it had probably been misdiagnosed as sinus disease.
As a result, the unknowing health professional who administered the nasal swab to test for coronavirus had damaged this mass within her nose, causing the leakage of CSF.
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ecfcf85a4fa37e5a57b1c09b84f1336f?width=650
The test punctured a sac in the woman’s nose, caused by a rare skull disorder. Picture: JAMA Otolaryngology/University of Iowa Hospitals and ClinicsSource:Supplied
If too much brain fluid leaks out, the brain sags inside the head, putting pressure on parts of the skull and causing headaches, a condition known as spontaneous intracranial hypotension, National Organisation for Rare Disorders (https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/spontaneous-intracranial-hypotension/) states.
Thankfully, after doctors operated to reduce the mass, they were able to treat her undiagnosed condition with a soft skin graft and stop it protruding out of her skull.
“To our knowledge, this is the first report of an iatrogenic CSF leak after a nasal swab for COVID-19,” the report stated.
Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan (https://twitter.com/rebekahscanlan) | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au
https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/chartbeat/live/toppages/v3/?esi=true&host=news.com.au&limit=5§ion=lifestyle&sort_by=internal&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/trending&td_heading=trending in lifestyle&td_showcount=true&td_showimages=true&type=article