Rapid point-of-care test for COVID-19 in clinical service
Global-NAMRIP member Dr Stephen Poole has been working as part of a group, led by Dr Tristan Clark , to deliver rapid point-of-care testing for COVID-19 for patients admitted to University Hospital Southampton during the height of the pandemic.
The team recruited 500 adult patients arriving at the hospital with suspected COVID-19 and tested them shortly after admission using the QiaStat Dx . The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test looks for the presence of genetic material from the COVID-19 virus within the patient sample. By carrying out the test at point-of-care, the team were able to dramatically reduce the time patients had to wait in cohort areas for their results, reducing the chance of a patient contracting COVID-19 at the hospital and improving flow within the hospital.
The test has now transitioned into a clinical service and the findings of the evaluation are available in the following article published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
N.J. Brendish, S. Poole et al., Clinical impact of molecular point-of-care testing for suspected COVID-19 in hospital: A prospective, interventional, non-randomised, controlled study (COV-19POC), Lancet Resp Med.
The study has also featured in the BBC News article “ Coronavirus: Rapid bedside test shows promise in hospitals "
Team members
Tristan W. Clark a,b,c,d , Nathan J Brendish a,b , Stephen Poole a,b,c , Vasanth V. Naidu b , Christopher Mansbridge b , Nicholas Norton b , Helen Wheeler c , Laura Presland c , Gavin Babbage, Florina Borca, Hang Phang, Benoit Visseaux and Sean Ewings e
a School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
b Department of Infection, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
c NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
d NIHR Post Doctoral Fellowship Programme, UK
e Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton