What is an NPA and how do you collect one?

[tinkerbell419]

Hi, i know this is pretty specific but I want to understand more about what an NPA is and how to collect one. Is this a sputum sample where you suction the back of the pharynx or am I completely off the scale? I heard of this ages ago but cant for the life of me remember.

[Baby Wrangler]

What does NPA stand for? Is it like a nasopharyngeal swab? We don't do those all that often but you have to stick the swab pretty deep down the baby's nostril. We have special softer flexible swabs for it.

[tinkerbell419]

Nasopharengeal Aspirate

[babyNP., APRN]

On my old unit as a nurse, we used the sterile suction set that we used for suctioning vents. If the baby had no secretions, then you could first put a couple of normal saline drops in the nose. We attached a new sump trap (the thing that attaches to an NG when you have a baby on intermittent suctioning like a post-op baby) to the wall suction, and then put on sterile gloves, attached the catheter to the trap, and then suctioned out some nasal discharge. Usually didn't go very deep, maybe a couple of centimeters.

[tinkerbell419]

Ok thanks. Do you do NPA's quite regularly. Its not something im overly familiar with.

[babyNP., APRN]

We would do them for respiratory cultures, typically for viral ones. Not super often, but more common during RSV season.

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

This is what we did at my old NICU too.

On my old unit as a nurse, we used the sterile suction set that we used for suctioning vents. If the baby had no secretions, then you could first put a couple of normal saline drops in the nose. We attached a new sump trap (the thing that attaches to an NG when you have a baby on intermittent suctioning like a post-op baby) to the wall suction, and then put on sterile gloves, attached the catheter to the trap, and then suctioned out some nasal discharge. Usually didn't go very deep, maybe a couple of centimeters.

[tinkerbell419]

Thankyou very much for all replies. I havent yet done an NPA but im sure i will at some point. :)

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

On my old unit as a nurse, we used the sterile suction set that we used for suctioning vents. If the baby had no secretions, then you could first put a couple of normal saline drops in the nose. We attached a new sump trap (the thing that attaches to an NG when you have a baby on intermittent suctioning like a post-op baby) to the wall suction, and then put on sterile gloves, attached the catheter to the trap, and then suctioned out some nasal discharge. Usually didn't go very deep, maybe a couple of centimeters.

That's how we did it when I first worked in a pediatric hospital but they changed the policy a few years back and just had swabs for all that, no suction required.