COVID-19 point-of-care testing in care homes: what are the lessons for policy and practice?


Buckle, Peter, Micocci, Massimo, Tulloch, John ORCID: 0000-0003-2150-0090, Kierkegaard, Patrick, Parvulescu, Paula, Thompson, Carl, Spilsbury, Karen, Allen, A Joy, Body, Richard, Hayward, Gail et al (show 2 more authors) (2021) COVID-19 point-of-care testing in care homes: what are the lessons for policy and practice? AGE AND AGEING, 50 (5). pp. 1442-1444.

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Abstract

COVID-19 has devastated care homes. Point-of-care tests (POCTs), mainly using lateral flow devices (LFDs), have been deployed hurriedly without much consideration of their usability or impact on care workflow. Even after the pandemic, POCTs, particularly multiplex tests, may be an important control against spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory infections in care homes by enabling identification of cases. They should not, however, replace other infection control measures such as barrier methods and quarantine. Adherence to LFDs as implemented among care home staff is suboptimal. Other tests-such as point-of-care polymerase chain reaction and automated antigen tests-would also need to be accommodated into care home workflows to improve adherence. The up-front costs of POCTs are straightforward but additional costs, including staffing preparation and reporting processes and the impacts of false positive and negative tests on absence rates and infection days, are more complex and as yet unquantified. A detailed appraisal is needed as the future of testing in care homes is considered.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: care homes, COVID-19, nursing homes, point-of-care testing, older people
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 17 May 2021 08:23
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 22:47
DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afab101
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab101
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3122691
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