Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37373894›Full record

ArticleJournal of personalized medicine2023

SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle Ear-CovEar: A Prospective Pilot Study.

Nina Rubicz, Nikolaus Poier-Fabian, Christian Paar, Markus Winkler-Zamani, Philipp Hermann, Stefan Raidl, Paul Martin Zwittag

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of personalized medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A pain from the nose to the head: neurological commitment during long COVID.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2025
    Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nina RubiczDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Krankenhausstrasse 9, 4020 Linz, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-7740-3623
Nikolaus Poier-FabianDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Krankenhausstrasse 9, 4020 Linz, Austria.
Christian PaarInstitute of Laboratory Medicine, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Krankenhausstrasse 9, 4020 Linz, Austria.
Markus Winkler-ZamaniInstitute for Pathology and Microbiology, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Krankenhausstrasse 9, 4020 Linz, Austria.
Philipp HermannCenter for Clinical Studies (CCS Linz), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Krankenhausstrasse 5, 4040 Linz, Austria.
Stefan RaidlCenter for Clinical Studies (CCS Linz), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Krankenhausstrasse 5, 4040 Linz, Austria.
Paul Martin ZwittagDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Krankenhausstrasse 9, 4020 Linz, Austria.
Johannes Kepler University of Linz · ATKepler Universitätsklinikum · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In post-mortem analyses, SARS-CoV-2 was found in the middle ear of some, but not all, patients with COVID-19. It is not clear whether SARS-CoV-2 penetrated the ear passively post mortem, or existed in the middle ear of living patients during, and perhaps also after, infection. This study investigated whether SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the middle ear of living patients during ear surgery. Swabs from the nasopharynx, the filter connected to the tracheal tube and secretions from the middle ear were collected during middle ear surgery. All samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 using PCR. History of vaccination, COVID-19 history and contact with SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were recorded preoperatively. Postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted at the follow-up visit. Overall, 63 participants (62%) were children and 39 (38%) were adults. SARS-CoV-2 was found in the middle ear and in the nasopharynx of two and four CovEar study participants, respectively. The filter connected to the tracheal tube was sterile in all cases. Cycle threshold (ct) values of the PCR test were between 25.94 and 37.06. SARS-CoV-2 penetrated the middle ear of living patients and was found in asymptomatic patients. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the middle ear may have implications for ear surgery and can pose a risk of infection for operating room staff. It may also directly affect the audio-vestibular system.

Indexed as

coronavirusCOVID-19ear surgerymiddle earmiddle ear surgeryotologic surgerySARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID37373894
PMCPMC10300970
OpenAlexW4378619452

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.