Smarticitizen, as we try to maintain our health during the pandemic, you may know of someone whether it’s a family member or a friend who has been recommended to undergo the reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), more commonly known as the PCR test or swab test. Or maybe you yourself have been advised to go through this test in your nearest health facility. If so, then perhaps you are wondering how the PCR procedure flows. In fact, the PCR test procedure may differ depending on the patient category. Let's study these procedures based on the Covid-19 Prevention and Control Guidelines from the Indonesian Ministry of Health.
Suspected Cases
For those who don't know, a suspected case is someone who shows symptoms of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) and within the last 14 days has a history of travel to an infected area or has been in contact with a confirmed/probable Covid-19 case. Patients hospitalized for symptoms of ARI or severe pneumonia without any other discernible cause are also suspected cases.
Since declared as a suspected case, the patient must undergo an isolation process and will be monitored regularly by health workers. This monitoring will be carried out on a daily basis by health workers via visits or phone calls. The PCR test is carried out by local laboratory personnel at the health care facility or isolation site. While waiting for the test results, the patient remains in isolation. If the results of the RT-PCR examination for two consecutive days with an interval of more than 24 hours show negative results, isolation may be declared complete.
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Confirmed Cases
Confirmed cases refer to patients who have clearly tested positive for Covid-19 based on the PCR test results from the laboratory. This category is subdivided into two, namely symptomatic cases and asymptomatic cases.
Confirmed patients also need to carry out isolation with the same procedure as patients with suspected cases. Symptomatic or not, the patient must still be isolated because the disease can still be transmitted even if there are no symptoms. Isolation will continue until it is declared complete by health workers. Swab tests in cases with severe/critical symptoms will be carried out in the hospital. Meanwhile, cases with no symptoms, mild symptoms, and moderate symptoms do not need a follow-up RT-PCR examination. Symptomatic confirmed patients who do not undergo RT-PCR follow-up should complete self-isolation counting ten days from onset date, plus a minimum of three days after they stop showing fever and respiratory difficulties.
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Close Contact Cases
This third category of course includes people who have a history of contact with a probable or confirmed case of Covid-19. What is meant by contact history is face to face communication, as well as physical contact such as shaking hands. Health workers who treat Covid-19 patients without wearing PPE also fall into this category.
Similar to the two previous patient categories, close contact cases also need to be separated from other people to minimize the risk of transmission. But in this case, we call it quarantine, not isolation. Quarantine is different from isolation, as quarantine aims to separate people who are healthy or have yet to show symptoms to reduce the risk of transmission. Meanwhile, isolation is for patients who have been confirmed by laboratory tests or are showing symptoms. Close contact patients must undergo quarantine since a person is declared a close contact for 14 days from the last contact with a probable or confirmed case of Covid-19. Daily monitoring will also be carried out during quarantine to monitor the development of symptoms. If during quarantine the patient shows no symptoms, the quarantine may be stopped. However, if symptoms appear during quarantine, the patient must immediately perform a swab test and enter isolation.
Now that you know what patients undergoing the PCR tests must do, it still means that you must maintain your and your loved one’s health. Keep abiding to the PSBB health protocols, stay at home, wear a mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands.
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