The hidden dangers of SARS-CoV-2 testing horizontal ellipsis

A foreign body can be intentionally or accidentally ingested. Timing of endoscopy relies on foreign body shape and size, location in gastrointestinal tract, patient's clinical conditions, occurrence of symptoms or onset of complications. In this short case, we present a middle age woman, who accidentally swallowed a portion of a nasopharyngeal swab half-broken during a diagnostic test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was promptly performed to prevent the swab from crossing the pylorus leading to serious complications and, therefore, risk of surgical intervention. The broken nasopharyngeal swab was detected in the gastric body, and immediately removed with a foreign body forceps. Our hospital performs many nasopharyngeal swabs and to our knowledge, this is only the second reported swab ingestion during SARS-CoV-2 test.

Automated summary

This case presents a middle-aged woman who accidentally swallowed a portion of a nasopharyngeal swab during a diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2. Prompt upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed to remove the swab and prevent complications. This is the second reported case of swab ingestion during SARS-CoV-2 testing to our knowledge.