Point of care testing: diagnosis outside the virology laboratory.
Numerous point-of-care tests (POCTs) are available to diagnose viral infections in both hospital and community settings. The ideal POCT is rapid, sensitive, specific, and simple to perform. This chapter will describe the benefits of POCTs, factors that can influence the accuracy of POCTs and highlight some limitations of POCT strategies. The sensitivity, specificity, and turn-around time of available POCTs are included for common conditions including respiratory viral infections (e.g. influenza, RSV) and blood-borne viral infections (e.g. HIV).
Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Christopher C
CC
Blyth
Robert
R
Booy
Dominic E
DE
Dwyer
D006678:HIV / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011786:Quality Control; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014773:Virology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology