RAPid community Testing fOR COVID-19 (RAPTOR-C19) [COVID-19] [UPH]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Expanding national RAPid community Test evaluation capacity fOR COVID-19
IRAS ID
284320
Contact name
FD Richard Hobbs
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN14226970
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a number of point-of-care tests (POCTS) for active COVID-19 infection in the community setting.\nThe NHS urgently needs quick, accurate rapid diagnostic tests to diagnose people with COVID-19 or to confirm that people do not have the infection. POCTs can be used in community settings where there is no easy access to a specialist laboratory. They provide quick results that allow people to get immediate advice about self-isolation and treatment, potentially blocking further spread of infection in the community. Companies are quickly developing new rapid diagnostic tests, but we do not know how well they work. Some tests give a result like a pregnancy test by using a drop of blood from a finger prick. Others use saliva, or a swab to collect a sample from the nose or throat. Companies check that tests work in their laboratories, but usually tests do not work as well when used in the outside world with real patients. Accurate rapid diagnostic tests are important so that people are not falsely reassured when they are infected and are not wrongly diagnosed when they are not really infected. Our team manages a national monitoring system with a network of community settings including GP practices from all over England. These GP practices have been testing for COVID-19 since January 2020 with samples sent for laboratory tests. In this study, GP practices in the network will quickly compare new POCTs for COVID-19 with laboratory tests so we can see how good the new POCTs are in a coordinated and efficient way.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/NW/0282
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion