Covid swab test

For some people, a swab test to detect COVID-19 hurts more when another person inserts a probe down their throat. This has led some people, especially in the United States, to try to carry out a COVID-19 swab test independently. So, is this self-examination accurate?

The standalone COVID-19 swab test is considered safer

Source: Health.mil

Generally, testing for COVID-19 causes a tingling sensation that is unpleasant for most people. This is because the health worker will insert the swab into the nostrils which of course can cause pain.

This pain has led some people in several countries to take COVID-19 swab test samples independently. This means that people can wipe their own nasal passages and hand it over to the nearest health worker.

This method was found to be more effective and as accurate as the sample collected by health workers. This is proven through limited research published in Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine, was followed by 30 participants who were previously diagnosed positive for COVID-19. Initially, researchers contacted the participants by telephone and gave them written instructions and videos on how to do the self-swab test.

Source: CDC

Then, the participants were asked to return to the hospital for tests drive Thru aka checking on each car. During the visit, participants tried to collect specimens without the assistance of health workers. Starting from rubbing the nose to inserting the instrument into the back of the throat.

Then, the swab test was also carried out again, but this time it was assisted by a health worker. The three samples collected were finally tested to see if there was a COVID-19 virus in his body.

As a result, 29 out of 30 participants received the same results in three samples, either positive or negative. 11 participants were diagnosed positive and 18 others negative. There was one participant who received different results in all three samples, namely one positive passing drive Thru and the other two are negative.

Looking at the symptoms, 23 participants reported that they first experienced symptoms of COVID-19 four to 37 days before taking the test drive Thru. 12 of them returned and seven of them tested positive.

Therefore, researchers are also interested in knowing how long it took for people who were diagnosed to be positive through this independent swab test when they first experienced symptoms of COVID-19.

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The advantages of the standalone COVID-19 swab test

Apart from being more effective and as accurate as testing assisted by health workers, the standalone COVID-19 swab test has other advantages. Sample collection tools can be widely distributed, allowing more testing to be carried out.

People who carry out independent swab tests do not need to come to the hospital or the location of the examination. This can lower the risk of transmitting the virus to health workers or other people they come into contact with.

In addition, the independent swab test also saves the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) used by health workers. In fact, this method also allows more people to send samples because they no longer worry about contracting the virus when they come to the location.

Therefore, researchers began to consider whether this independent swab test could be carried out in the wider community. This is because there is an urgent need to increase the capacity of virus testing so that it can slow down the spread of COVID-19.

However, these preliminary findings are quite limited considering that the participants and the sample are still in a small scope. Researchers still need further studies with more diverse clinical trials so that it can be applied in all places.

Swab test considerations yourself

The standalone COVID-19 swab test does offer an advantage. However, it is possible that this method can actually cause problems when not done properly.

Therefore there are several considerations that need to be considered when undergoing an independent swab test, such as:

• The independent swab test is considered less optimal than the upper channel swab
• how it is stored when the sample is collected may affect the results
• must be done with instructions from a health professional
• laboratory personnel must identify the sample twice
• many countries have not approved the method self-swab test

The standalone COVID-19 swab test may be controversial because some people may have difficulty reading the medical instructions provided. These challenges also affect the final results of sample testing.

Therefore, governments in countries that already allow this method recommend that sample collection should be monitored by trained staff.