tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Acta Biomed
. 2020 Sep 7;91(3):e2020024.
doi: 10.23750/abm.v91i3.9979.
Negative nasopharyngeal swabs in COVID-19 pneumonia: the experience of an Italian Emergengy Department (Piacenza) during the first month of the Italian epidemic
Erika Poggiali[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Andrea Vercelli[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Giovanni Battista Vadacca[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Roberta Schiavo[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Silvana Mazzoni[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Eva Ioannilli[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Elena Demichele[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Andrea Magnacavallo[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a systemic disease which can cause multiple organ failure and death primarly due to vascular endothelium injury. Severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the main cause of death: its management and treatment should be tailored to the individual COVID-19 patient's phenotype. Early diagnosis of COVID-19 is paramount for disease treatment and infection control. Naso-pharyngeal (NP) swab is commonly used as screening and diagnostic tool for COVID-19, but in some cases it can be resulted negative even in presence of clinical and epidemiological criteria, and typical radiological and laboratory findings of COVID-19, as we have observed. Here we report our experience in the first month of the Italian epidemic. We strongly recommend clinicians to maintain a high index of suspicion for COVID-19, regardless of the persistence negativity of NP swabs, and not to delay the initiation of therapy in presence of typical clinical, radiological and laboratory findings of COVID-19.
. 2020 Sep 7;91(3):e2020024.
doi: 10.23750/abm.v91i3.9979.
Negative nasopharyngeal swabs in COVID-19 pneumonia: the experience of an Italian Emergengy Department (Piacenza) during the first month of the Italian epidemic
Erika Poggiali[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Andrea Vercelli[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Giovanni Battista Vadacca[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Roberta Schiavo[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Silvana Mazzoni[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Eva Ioannilli[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Elena Demichele[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Andrea Magnacavallo[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32921720
- DOI: 10.23750/abm.v91i3.9979
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a systemic disease which can cause multiple organ failure and death primarly due to vascular endothelium injury. Severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the main cause of death: its management and treatment should be tailored to the individual COVID-19 patient's phenotype. Early diagnosis of COVID-19 is paramount for disease treatment and infection control. Naso-pharyngeal (NP) swab is commonly used as screening and diagnostic tool for COVID-19, but in some cases it can be resulted negative even in presence of clinical and epidemiological criteria, and typical radiological and laboratory findings of COVID-19, as we have observed. Here we report our experience in the first month of the Italian epidemic. We strongly recommend clinicians to maintain a high index of suspicion for COVID-19, regardless of the persistence negativity of NP swabs, and not to delay the initiation of therapy in presence of typical clinical, radiological and laboratory findings of COVID-19.