Journal d'otologie et de rhinologie

Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak from Lateral Sphenoid Sinus after Nasopharyngeal Swab Test for COVID-19: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Tobial McHugh*, Doron D Sommer , Kesava Reddy, Leigh J Sowerby, Arun Mensinkai and Kaiser Qureshy

During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nasopharyngeal swab testing has been performed approximately 41 million times in Canada thus far. Extremely rare cases of nasopharyngeal swabs breaching the skull base and resulting in a Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) leak have been reported in the literature. Although rare, a traumatic CSF leak is a potentially serious complication that needs to be kept in mind to implement preventative measures and to ensure adherence of correct swab technique.