Introduction
SARS-CoV-2 infection
SARS-COV-2 INFECTION
As point-of-care tests (POCTs), lateral flow device antigen (LFD-Ag) tests provide rapid results that avoid the delays and costs associated with laboratory testing [There are concerns about the diagnostic accuracy of LFD-Ag devices and in particular LFD-Ag test performance when used by front-line community-based healthcare workers in usual care settings. False negatives are more damaging in the community as ambulatory patients can potentially propel community transmission, whilst false positives in otherwise healthy individuals could hamper efforts to maintain employment and education and result in inappropriate management [Whilst the evidence base for LFD-Ag SARS-CoV-2 testing has steadily increased since early 2020 [We aimed to conduct a community based prospective diagnostic accuracy study of POCTs for SARS-CoV-2 infection in symptomatic patients performed by front-line healthcare workers.