CSF rhinorrhea after nasopharyngeal swab testing for COVID-19: A case report and review of literature

Samadian, Mohammad; Maroufi, Seyed Farzad; Taheri, Morteza Sanei; Jafari, Armin

Background There are more than 206 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection globally. Nasopharyngeal swab testing is one of the widely used diagnostic methods for the initial diagnosis of such cases. With the growing diagnostic testing capacity, it is expected to observe an increased number of adverse events due to nasopharyngeal testing. Clinical presentation A middle-aged woman presented with unilateral rhinorrhea, started after nasopharyngeal swab test for Covid-19. She had no prior medical issues. Thorough examination and imaging showed the presence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Conclusion Nasopharyngeal swab testing may lead to serious complications and taking a brief history might be helpful. Also, patients should be educated on different complications of nasopharyngeal swab testing and their associated symptoms.