Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Patients, Clinicians Have Similar Accuracy With Interpreting At-Home COVID Tests

When patients use at-home tests to check for COVID-19, their results are similar to results from clinicians using the same tests, according to a study in Microbiology Spectrum. Researchers compared the sensitivity and specificity of Abbott’s BinaxNOW patient-administered rapid antigen test (RAT) against RATs administered by a healthcare provider and against reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Of the 953 patients, 34.1% had at least 1 COVID-19 symptom. Hospital staff administered a RAT and an RT-PCR …

As COVID Cases Rise, Home Tests Are Questioned

Urgent care centers across the United States are treating a rising number of COVID-19 cases, even among patients who say they tested negative at home. Nick Karr, MD, CEO and founder of Citra Urgent Care, noted as many as 20% of patients seeking care at the company’s seven locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area, are testing positive, as reported by Fox 4. Texas had a 32% week-over-week increase in cases recently with hospitalizations rising …