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More than 45 millionCoronavirus tests have been administered in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the most recent estimates of disease control and prevention centers (CDC). But according to the report you read, between 5 and 20% ofCOVID test results could actuallybe inaccurate. Now we have an idea of ​​the most reliable test methodology and you may want to avoid. There are four basic basic methods used by health professionals to collect samples via swabs: nasopharygial (deep nasal collection), throat, nostril and saliva. And like two top doctors saidToday, a test is more precise than the rest and it is theDeep nasal stape.

Jake Deutsch, MD, Clinical Director and Co-Founder of Cure Cure Urgent Care in New York, andEric Cioe-Pena, MD, Medicine of Emergency Medicine in Northwell Health in New York, both toldTodaythat theThe deep nasal buffer is the most precise covidation test. "There is not much convincing data that other types of ashes are also good," said Cioe-Pena.

TheCDC also recommends nasopharyngeal buffers. So, why is this test method better than the throat, nostril or saliva tests? Well, "Because in most patients, nasopharynx, or space above the soft mouth at the back of the nose, seems to have the highest concentration of virus", according toARUP LABORATORIES In Salt Lake City, Utah.

Just as important as the test method, however, is the way the samples are processed. There are two options, whose molecular test is the molecular test, alias "The reaction of the polymerase chain" (PCR). This type of test "detects the viral genetic code that does not exist in the human body otherwise", according to CIOE-PENA. "They are sensitive to the point of even detecting fragments, which means that a test could still return positive for a person who was sick, but then recovered. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), theThe PCR method is "typically very precise".

The other way in which the samples are processed is a fast antigen test, which is generally on site and provides a much faster result, by the FDA. These tests have not startedbe approved by the FDA Until mid-May and are the type of test kits that reveal results from 10 to 20 minutes. Antigen tests are based on a nasal or throat cocha, but instead of looking for virus proteins in genetic materials, they seek them in the body.

But it turns out that the latter is not as precise. With antigen tests, "positive results are generally very accurate butNegative results may need to be confirmed With a molecular test, "the FDA warns. According to CIOe-Pena, PCR tests have an accuracy of 99%. By comparison, antigen tests are about 93% specific, according to Deutsch.

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So if you want to get the most reliable test results, make sure you have a deep NASAL PCR test. You can have 99% convinced that the results are accurate. And for more information on COVID tests, check80% of people who test positive for Covid have this in common.