Rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing gives you a positive or negative result within 24 hours of the test itself and lets you know if you have an active infection, like COVID-19. At Healthy Therapeutics Medical Practice, PLLC in Park Slope area of Brooklyn, Somers, Pelham, New York, as well as the two offices in Scarsdale, New York, Rondalph Taylor, MD, offers reliable Rapid PCR testing for COVID-19. Schedule your test today by calling the nearest office or by clicking the online booking button.
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Rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is a highly accurate testing procedure for certain infectious diseases, notably including COVID-19. The test detects DNA material from the pathogen in question or RNA, a similar type of genetic material.
PCR testing is beneficial over other testing procedures for the same diseases because it detects infections early on, even if you don’t have symptoms.
During your PCR test at Healthy Therapeutics Medical Practice Pllc, your providers collect a sample of mucus from your nasal cavity. PCR swab tests for COVID-19 work with swabs both deep inside the nasal cavity and just inside your nostril. In a laboratory, technicians extract genetic material like DNA or RNA from the sample for analysis.
In the lab, enzymes and chemicals affect the genetic material through heating and cooling cycles inside a machine called a thermal cycler. The cycles increase the amount of genetic material in the sample until it’s at a highly detectable level. If the virus is present, one of the chemicals causes it to light up.
PCR testing is most well known as a diagnostic test for COVID-19, an infectious respiratory illness that’s highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms like fever, chills, coughing, and loss of taste or smell. However, rapid PCR tests exist for other infectious illnesses too. Other examples are ebola and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Typically, it takes around 24 hours to get the results back after rapid PCR testing. It can take a little longer in some cases, depending on how long it takes for the results to reach the laboratory and return.
When you receive the results of your rapid PCR test at Healthy Therapeutics Medical Practice Pllc, you get one of two possible results. Here’s what happens in the case of either of them:
A positive rapid PCR test result indicates the presence of the disease in your system, even if you don’t have symptoms. When you get a positive result, you must go home to recover. False-positive results are highly unlikely to happen, but you can get a positive result when most of the infection has already left your body and is no longer contagious.
A negative result indicates that the test didn’t detect an infection. This could mean the infection is already gone after a previous illness, that you never had the infection, or, in rare instances, that the results were false.
For either test result, your provider discusses the implications with you in detail and tells you if you need to take any more steps.
For more information on rapid PCR testing and what to expect when you come in, call Healthy Therapeutics Medical Practice Pllc or schedule a visit online today.
