Different testing settings
In this review, we will focus our discussion on 7 key testing settings:
symptomatic individuals presenting for diagnostic testing and/or
treatment of COVID-19 symptoms; asymptomatic individuals accessing
healthcare for planned non-COVID-19-related reasons; patients needing to
access emergency care (symptom status unknown); patients being
discharged from healthcare following hospitalization for COVID-19;
healthy individuals in both single event settings (e.g. airports,
restaurants, hotels, concerts, sporting events) and repeat access
settings (e.g. workplaces, schools, universities); and vaccinated
individuals. These 7 settings comprise the key areas where testing is
being used to care for patients and help to prevent the spread of
infection, and echoes the list provided by the WHO.3
Before diagnostic testing is considered in any individual, it is
important to establish if they have symptoms and, if so, the time from
symptom onset.2,4,5 On an individual basis, these
simple factors will be key to determining the relevant test choice as,
for example, antigen testing may not be beneficial >10 days
post symptom onset.38,39