At present, respiratory diseases have entered a period of high incidence, and many large hospitals are densely staffed, with long waiting times and a high risk of cross-infection. The reporter of the people's ** health client found that many e-commerce platforms have recently launched home testing services for respiratory tract infections, which can achieve home sampling without leaving home, and can detect 6-17 kinds of pathogens at a time.
On December 2, the reporter randomly purchased an e-commerce platform's respiratory virus home rapid testing service, according to the service introduction, it can simultaneously detect 12 common respiratory pathogens, including influenza A virus, Mycopium pneumoniae, new coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza B virus, etc.
The order was placed at 1:20 p.m., and 15 minutes later, the reporter received the inspector**, verified the door-to-door address, reminded him to familiarize himself with the sampling process in advance, and agreed on the door-to-door time. At 2:10 p.m., the inspector arrived, and the reporter completed the double sampling of the nose and oropharynx and the upload of the barcode according to the requirements, and then handed the sampling box back to the inspector and promised to issue a test report within 3 hours.
The respiratory sampling box provided by the inspector has sample preservation tubes, nasal swabs, oropharyngeal swabs, specimen transport bags and other contents after opening. Photo by Zhang Shuang.
However, according to the reporter's understanding, the coverage of relevant door-to-door testing services launched by some platforms is relatively limited. Some only support citizens in the six districts of Xi'an City to make an appointment to place an order, and the platform experienced by the reporter only provides relevant testing services in some areas of Beijing and Guangzhou, and sometimes encounters "bursting orders" and cannot place orders.
How convenient is an at-home test, but how accurate is it?According to the platform, nucleic acid detection technology is used for the detection of respiratory viruses and bacteria, and the positive coincidence rate can reach 9999%。In this regard, a number of experts told reporters that there is no problem with the detection of respiratory pathogens through nucleic acid detection technology, and compared with blood drawing, antigen detection and other detection methods, the accuracy of nucleic acid detection technology is also the highest, but whether the sampling process is standardized, the specific testing level of the testing laboratory and other factors will affect the accuracy of the results. Therefore, if consumers choose relevant services, they need to pay attention to whether the final inspection platform has the corresponding testing qualifications.
In addition, Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Beijing You'an Hospital, also pointed out to reporters that if the final test results of consumers show that they are positive for multiple viruses, it does not necessarily mean that they are co-infected, and it is necessary to further rule out the possibility of false positives in nucleic acid, and whether patients can be recognized as being recognized if they only go to the hospital to prescribe drugs based on home test results.
During the patient's visit to the hospital, the doctor does not make a judgment based on the test results alone, but also makes a comprehensive analysis based on the specific situation of each patient. Therefore, the results of the home test can only be used as a reference, if the patient's symptoms are not relieved and improved for a long time, it is still necessary to seek medical attention in time, and ask a professional doctor to make a judgment. Li Tong once said.