Risk of dispersion or aerosol generation and infection transmission with nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for detection of COVID-19: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

SARS-CoV-2-related disease, referred to as COVID-19, has emerged as a global pandemic since December 2019. While there is growing recognition regarding possible airborne transmission, particularly in the setting of aerosol-generating procedures and treatments, whether nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 generate aerosols remains unclear.

Design

Systematic review.

Data sources

We searched Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE up to 3 November 2020. We also searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Medical Journal Network, medRxiv and ClinicalTrials.gov up to 29 March 2020.

Eligibility criteria

All comparative and non-comparative studies that evaluated dispersion or aerosolisation of viable airborne organisms, or transmission of

SUBMITTER: Agarwal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7977073 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature