Near-patient testing will not improve the control of sexually transmitted infections

The definition of a near-patient, or “point-of-care” test (POCT), is an investigation carried out in a clinical or non-clinical setting, or in the patient’s home, for which the result is available without reference to a laboratory, perhaps rapidly enough to affect immediate patient management. The characteristics of an ideal POCT, as outlined by the World Health Organisation Sexually Transmitted Diseases Diagnostics Initiative in 2001...