Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 11, 2025
Nasal Brushing Sampling and Processing Using Digital High Speed Ciliary Videomicroscopy – Adaptation for the COVID-19 Pandemic
Published on: November 7, 2020
Pre-Procedural COVID-19 Nasopharyngeal Swab Has Good Concordance with Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Patients at Low Risk
Catherine L Oberg1, Reza Ronaghi1, Erik E Folch2
1Section of Interventional Pulmonology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Background:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically affected hospital and operating room (OR) workflow around the world as well as trainee education. Many institutions have instituted mandatory preoperative SARS-CoV-2 PCR nasopharyngeal swab (NS) testing in patients who are low risk for COVID-19 prior to elective cases. This method, however, is challenging as the sensitivity, specificity, and overall reliability of testing remains unclear.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to assess the concordance of a negative NS in low risk preoperative patients with lower airway bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens obtained from the same patients.
Methods:
We prospectively sent intraoperative lower airway BAL samples collected within 48 h of a negative mandatory preoperative NS for SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. All adult patients undergoing a scheduled bronchoscopic procedure for any reason were enrolled, including elective and nonelective cases.
Results:
One-hundred eighty-nine patients were included. All BAL specimens were negative for SARS-CoV-2 indicative of 100% concordance between testing modalities.
Conclusions:
These results are promising and suggest that preoperative nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 testing provides adequate screening to rule out active COVID-19 infection prior to OR cases in a population characterized as low risk by negative symptom screening. This information can be used for both pre-procedural screening and when reintroducing trainees into the workforce.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Suctioning the Nasopharyngeal Airway
Equipment Required
01:20Sputum Studies II: Culture and Sensitivity
Sputum culture and sensitivity is a medical procedure used to diagnose bacterial infections in the respiratory tract and select the most appropriate antibiotics for treatment. This process involves analyzing sputum samples of thick and opaque secretions produced in the lungs and airways. These samples are collected from patients and then sent to the laboratory for analysis.
The test can identify various pathogens responsible for respiratory infections, including Streptococcus,...