Skip to content

The Step-By-Step Process Of Using Covid-19 Test Kits

After buying a Coronavirus test kit for sale for your hospital, you must ensure that all your hospital staff knows how to use the kits effectively. To get accurate results, your physicians must carry out the tests correctly. Although most healthcare workers have enough knowledge to operate the Coronavirus test kits by now, it’s important to keep updating your staff so they don’t become complacent.

Let’s review how Covid-19 test kits work in the following step-by-step process.

Precautions To Observe Before Sample Collection

Before collecting the nasal swab samples, a physician should wear a surgical face mask and safety gloves to prevent contamination. Also, the physician collecting the samples should not touch the edge of the swab inserted in a patient’s nostrils for sample collection. Touching might contaminate it and affect the accuracy of the test results.

After taking all the precautions mentioned above, you should proceed and remove the nasopharyngeal sterile swab from the pouch. The pouch is usually packed inside the test kit’s box among other components. After removing the swab, gently insert it into one nostril until it reaches the posterior nasopharynx and it can’t move further. Rotate the swab steadily and firmly three to five times and slowly remove it from the nostril while still rotating it.

Step 1: Collecting the Nasopharyngeal Swab Sample

Covid 19 test kits depend on a nasopharyngeal swab to detect the presence of SARS- CoV-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus disease. As a rule of thumb, the nasopharyngeal swabs specimens should be collected within five days of a patient showing symptoms of Covid-19.

Step 2: The Testing Process

Before you begin the testing process, you should observe the following guidelines. First, you should let the specimen, reagents, and test devices balance to room temperature, which is 15-30°C. Secondly, you should remove the test device and the extraction tube right before you begin the test. This allows you to be well-prepared so that you can begin testing immediately after you finish collecting the nasal swab sample from your patient.

The Actual Testing

Take out the test card from the package bag and pour 10 drops of the reagent (R1) into the extraction tube. Then, take the swab specimen and put it into the extraction tube. Without releasing the swab head, rotate it for about 10 seconds and press it to release the antigen in the swab. Give the swab head a few squeezes to drain as much liquid from the swab as you remove it from the extraction tube. Ensure that you dispose of the swabs correctly as stipulated by the biohazard waste disposal policies in place.

After depositing the nasal swab sample into the extraction tube, place the tube on the dripper. Then, add two drops of sample diluent to the test card sample hole. Start the timer immediately, and observe results within 10 minutes. Typically, positive results are observed fast – within 10 minutes – while negative results take longer – about 15 minutes. Results observed after 30 minutes are invalid.

Step 3: Interpreting Test Results

The Coronavirus test kit for sale is calibrated with two letters marked C and T. For a positive result, two red lines will display on both letters C and T. For a negative result, a red line will be displayed on the letter C only. When there’s no red line displayed on either of the letters or the red line is only displayed on letter T, it indicates an invalid result. After buying your Coronavirus test kit for sale, you should follow the testing guidelines well and collect the swab samples correctly to get accurate results.

Although approximately 80% of people who become infected with Covid-19 recover without special treatment, it’s necessary to conduct Covid tests on patients to help prevent the spread of the virus. However, it’s not enough to buy a Coronavirus test kit for sale and stand by. You should go a step further and ensure that your hospital staff knows how to use the Covid-19 test kits effectively.

Rapid, reliable results.
A one-stop location for testing solutions, in Coconut Creek.