The Value of Point of Care Testing for Infectious Diseases

Exploring benefits and risks of point of care testing and their impact on clinical patient management and antibiotic stewardship.

Educational Objectives

Educational Aim:
The aim of this article is to provide information on point of care testing and how this could impact on clinical patient management and the required availability of diagnostic results for the treating physician within a shorter time frame.

Editor's comments:
Point of care (POC) testing in communities, home settings, and primary healthcare centres is believed to have potential in reducing delays in diagnosing and initiating treatment for diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, syphilis, and malaria. Quick diagnosis and clinical management decisions completed in the same encounter or at least the same day, while the patient is waiting, promise to overcome delays associated with conventional laboratory-based testing. However, the availability of cheap, simple, and rapid tests that can be conducted outside laboratories does not automatically ensure successful POC testing and benefits and risks must be taken into consideration.

Educational Outcomes:
Upon completion of this module practitioners should have a clear understanding of:

1. the implementation of point of care testing and the benefits and risks involved in patient management and diagnosis of diseases.

Instructions for this Module

• Read the supplied reading material and complete the quiz that follows;
• You have three attempts to pass the quiz;
• The pass grade is 70%;
• You need to pass the quiz to claim your CPD certificate;
• Please click on the CPD certificate link below to claim your CPD certificate and to update your CPD Manager.

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