Diagnosis of COVID-19: An Evolution from Hospital based to Point of Care Testing

Abstract The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the development of a diagnostic method which could help in rapid and economical diagnosis of COVID-19 disease. The current problem with the diagnosis of the disease is that most tests are laboratory based and time consuming. Real Time PCR (RT-PCR) is the only gold standard method for diagnosis of COVID-19 disease till now. As soon as WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, scientists immediately started development of rapid kits for fast detection of disease and point of care tests so that community transmission of disease can be controlled. The rapid antigen antibody and many other rapid tests were developed in response to community transmission, and efforts to develop improved alternatives are ongoing. In this article we have reviewed all the methods and strategies available till date. Keywords COVID-19; RT-PCR; Olfactory test; LAMPORE method; CRISPR-Cas Abbreviations RT-PCR: Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; MERS: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome; SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; ACE2: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2; OP: Oropharyngeal; NP: Nasopharyngeal; BAL: Broncho Alveolar Lavage; PPE: Personal Protective; ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research; ELISA: Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay; VTM: Viral Transport Media; CSIR: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; DAE: Department of Atomic Energy; WHO: World Health Organization; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; LAMP: Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification; EUA: Emergency Use Authorization; PoC: Point of Care