Manyurine testsfor STIs are performed using NAATs.
NAAT tests work because they identify small amounts of DNA or RNA in test samples.
How Do Nucleic-Acid Amplification Tests Work?
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Though there are several kinds of NAATs, all are based on the same principles.
This offers some advantages.
How Accurate Is a NAAT test for STIs?
NAAT tests can deliver highly accurate results.
A 2021 review of studies looked at point-of-care tests (given during your healthcare visit) to diagnose chlamydia.
The NAAT tests were significantly more sensitive than the antigen detection tests, with excellent accuracy on urine samples.
These tests usually involve some form of nucleic acid hybridization.
They also make someat-home testspossible.
Therefore, it has become easier for healthcare providers to test larger numbers of young people for these STIs.
Large-scale NAAT-based screening programs have been implemented in military service, for example.
These infections are more common in MSM and other groups with anal and oral sexual practices.
National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute.Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fact sheet.
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evidence from seroprevalence and behavioral epidemiology risk surveys in men with chlamydia and gonorrhea.Pan Afr Med J.
2015;47(3):219-226. doi:10.1097/PAT.0000000000000239
