Table 3.

Comparison of rapid tests to “gold standard” viral culture and RT-PCR.

Method	Sample type1	Cost	Complexity	Scalability	Sensitivity	Refs.
Viral culture	NP in VTM	Expensive	Complex	Not scalable	Culturable when Ct <24	[31]
RT-PCR (central lab protocols)	Extracted NP	Expensive	Complex	Kits, tubes and tips	Comparator	[45]
Cepheid GeneXpert	NP in VTM	Expensive	Simple	Platform and single-use cartridges	95−100%	[11,21]
Abbott ID NOW	Direct NP	Expensive	Simple	Platform and single-use cartridges	70−90%	[45,46]
Abbott Panbio Ag	Direct NP	Cheap	Simple	Single-use cartridges	75−85%	[34,47,48]
NEB RT-LAMP	Extract-free NP	Cheap	Simple	Kit, tubes and tips	75−95%	[23]

¹NP: Nasopharyngeal, VTM: Viral transport medium.