Nucleic acid test generally refers to the new coronavirus nucleic acid test, the common ways are nasopharyngeal swab, oropharyngeal swab, and in a few cases, other sampling methods may be taken. 1. Nasopharyngeal swab: A special swab is used to enter the deep part of the nasal cavity through the nasal cavity to retain the specimen from the nasopharynx for nucleic acid testing, which may cause nasal discomfort and painful symptoms, and is generally tolerated. However, patients with nasal bleeding or severe nasal stenosis should not undergo nasopharyngeal swabbing. 2. Oropharyngeal swab: A special swab is used to collect the specimen through the oral cavity to the pharynx, which can sometimes induce nausea or even vomiting and other related discomforts, and a full meal should be avoided before collecting the specimen to minimize the above complications. In general, it is not recommended to take an oropharyngeal swab immediately after eating, and it is not recommended to eat spicy food or have a full meal before taking the specimen. 3. Other rare ways, such as for patients with coughing sputum, sometimes sputum specimens will be retained, for severe new coronavirus pneumonia patients with tracheal intubation, sometimes bronchoscopic alveolar lavage, retained specimens for testing. Tip: “New coronavirus pneumonia and new coronavirus pneumonia” mentioned in this article were renamed to “new coronavirus infection” on December 26, 2022, as announced by the National Health Commission.