Molecular and antibody point-of-care tests to support the screening, diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19.

Conclusions: An increasing number of diagnostic devices are in development. Some more suitable for diagnosing new cases, others for determining whether an individual has previously been infected. This latter scenario is likely to be of paramount importance in identifying healthcare workers to ascertain suitability to return to frontline health services. It may also help to inform public health strategies at the end of periods of lockdown or as social distancing restrictions are relaxed. Importantly, they found relatively little current information reporting the diagnostic performance of these POC devices using clinical samples taken from community settings. It should also be noted that the laboratory rRt-PCR reference standard is subject to some misclassification error, and in particular false negative results may arise. There is also little evidence as to the psychological and behavioural consequences of knowing immunity status, whether or not correctly diagnosed. Sufficient clinical testing is therefore vital in determining suitability. Disclaimer: The article has not been peer-reviewed
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news