Laboratory and Point-of-Care Testing for COVID-19: A Review of Recent Developments

Ravi Kalia; Rishi Kaila; Payal Kahar; Deepesh Khanna

doi:10.7759/cureus.28530

Laboratory and Point-of-Care Testing for COVID-19: A Review of Recent Developments

Cureus. 2022 Aug 29;14(8):e28530. doi: 10.7759/cureus.28530. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Ravi Kalia¹, Rishi Kaila², Payal Kahar³, Deepesh Khanna⁴

Affiliations

¹ Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Tampa, USA.
² Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
³ Health Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, USA.
⁴ Foundational Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Clearwater, USA.

Abstract

With the emergence of Coronavirus infection called COVID-19, testing is essential for containment and mitigation purposes. In a pandemic, control is essential to limit the spread of any virus. Initially, contact tracing was not available which ultimately led to the 2020 pandemic. However, with the development of COVID-19 rapid testing, the rate of infections has lessened and has allowed for some return to normalcy. In this review, we discuss the various antibody, antigens, and molecular tests that have been given emergency authorization (EA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Moreover, we will discuss the various point-of-care tests as well as the specificity and sensitivity that are associated with each testing kit. With appropriate testing, we can be aware of how the virus spreads and how prevalent it remains.

Keywords: antigen; coronavirus; coronavirus disease; covid-19; covid-19 nucleic acid testing; elisa; laboratory tests; point of care testing; rt-pcr; serial laboratory testing in covid -19.

Publication types

Review