Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Jul 2021
Comparative StudyComparison of Tracheal vs Nasopharyngeal Secretions for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Testing in Patients With Tracheostomy.
This study compares nasopharyngeal and tracheal samples for COVID-19 viral testing in patients with a tracheostomy. This was a prospective cohort study done at 2 academic hospitals between March and June 2020. Patients admitted through the emergency department who had a COVID-19 test and an existing tracheostomy or underwent a tracheostomy during the admission period were included. ⋯ The average duration of viral shedding in nasopharyngeal samples was 20.9 days. One patient (6.7%) tested positive in tracheal secretions after a negative nasopharyngeal swab. In the remaining patients (93.3%), the nasopharyngeal and tracheal specimens correlated.