Application of Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) in Diagnostics of Influenza during COVID-19 Pandemic in elderly Hospitalized People (Short Communication

Influenza is a viral disease of the respiratory tract which affects a relatively large number of people in Slovakia and around the world every year. The patient groups most at risk are the elderly and immunocompromised patients in whom the disease can have serious outcomes including death. Therefore, early diagnosis of influenza and subsequent epidemiological management is very important. Point-of-care testing (POCT) seems to be very useful for rapid molecular diagnosis of influenza A and B viruses in patient samples. In today's coronavirus crisis, rapid diagnosis of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 in emergency departments in hospitals can streamline triage of patients with symptoms of acute respiratory disease and can reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections.