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Is a nucleic acid test nasopharyngeal swab the same as an antigen self-test nasal swab?

Is a nucleic acid test nasopharyngeal swab the same as an antigen self-test nasal swab?

Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-01-22 Origin: Site

With the continuous development of scientific epidemic prevention, antigen self-testing as an important supplementary means of nucleic acid testing is increasingly being understood by us. The nucleic acid test nasopharyngeal swabs and antigen self-test nasal swabs are the same?

Here I want to tell you that nucleic acid test nasopharyngeal swabs and antigen self-test nasal swabs are not the same, there is no need to worry about antigen self-test will be the same as people want to cry, here we will see what is the difference between the two?

Nasopharyngeal swabs and nasal swabs are not the same, although they are often referred to as "single-use sterile sampling swabs".

First of all, the two collection sites are different, nasopharyngeal swab collection site is the nasopharynx, as shown on the left, it is deeply "hidden" in the back of the mouth and nasal cavity; nasal swab collection site is the nasal cavity, as shown on the right. In comparison, the site of nasal swab collection is "superficial", so its collection operation is relatively simple.

Secondly, the swab used for nasopharyngeal collection, the brush head should be smaller to facilitate the smooth passage of the narrower inferior turbinate; the swabbing rod should be soft and tough, too soft will be blocked by nasal hairs and mucus, too hard to poke the nasal cavity wall pain will be obvious; the pre-set break point of the swabbing rod also needs to be closer to the tail end, or it may break in the nasal cavity. The nasal swab used for nasal collection does not require as much, it can be a little shorter, a little harder, and can reach above the middle of the nasal cavity.

Shenzhen Huarui Kang biological nasal swab pre-nasal swab

Then there are differences in the cells collected from nucleic acid detection nasopharyngeal swabs and antigen self-test nasal swabs.

The nasal cavity and nasopharynx both belong to the ductal part of the respiratory tract. The mucosal epithelial cell pathology type of the nasopharynx is pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium (pseudostratified ciliated columnar epi.), with ciliated columnar cells predominating. Under the premise of correct collection method, the cells collected by nasopharyngeal swab look like the following figure.

The first 1/3 of the nasal cavity is covered with squamous epithelial cells and gradually moves to the second 2/3 of the ciliated columnar epithelium, so the nasal swab collection also has a depth requirement and should enter to about 1/2 of the nasal cavity to ensure that enough cells are collected.

Many people have experienced being collected nasopharyngeal swabs and may have discomfort such as nasal pain and obvious foreign body sensation, so why collect nasopharyngeal swabs?

This is because nasopharyngeal swab specimens have their own characteristics, firstly, the collection process is not easy to trigger the vomiting reflex, the specimen will not be contaminated; secondly, more columnar epithelial cells can be collected, which is a variety of respiratory pathogens (especially viruses) very "favorite" breeding site, the specimen cleanliness is high, especially in some pathogenic testing This is a "favorite" breeding site for various respiratory pathogens (especially viruses), with a high degree of specimen cleanliness, especially in some pathogenic tests, the positive rate is higher than that of oropharyngeal swabs; then the process of collecting nasopharyngeal swabs allows patients to wear a mask, partially reducing the risk of exposure.