Anatomical Consideration of Nasopharyngeal and Oropharyngeal Swab Tests of COVID-19 among the Population in the Area Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background and Aim: In conducting nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab tests of suspected COVID-19 infection, one should expect variations in depth of nasopharynx and oropharynx among different categories of sex and ethnic groups. This study aims to describe the length of the nose to nasopharynx and mouth to oropharynx in the local population of the area of Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Participants in this study were asymptomatic Saudi adults. Seventy participants underwent oropharyngeal swab test, and 25 underwent nasopharyngeal swab test. Swab test stick was measured (length of stick out of the nose and out of the mouth) to estimate the nasopharynx and oropharynx’s depth, respectively. Also, we measured the nasopharynx and oropharynx depth in 42 cadaveric heads with a mid-sagittal section for comparative purposes. We analyzed the data to show the correlation in measurements of (1) male to female, (2) oropharynx depth to nasopharynx depth, and (3) cadaveric (Caucasian) to the living (local) population. Results: In the local population, our finding shows an average depth of the nasopharynx to be 9.82 ±0.48 cm in males and 8.99 ± 0.35 cm in females, with the difference to be significant, and an average depth of the oropharynx to be 9.12 ± 0.44 cm in males, and 8.45 ± 0.34 cm in females, also with the difference to be significant: We found Caucasian cadaveric specimens to have lengthier measurements in both nasopharynx and oropharynx depths than the local population. Conclusion: We concluded that there is significant difference in the measurements of the depth of the nasopharynx and oropharynx. Also, sex and race factors have significant effect on these measurements.