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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Ms Mary Logan
-
raptor@phc.ox.ac.uk


Dr Brian Nicolson
-
raptor@phc.ox.ac.uk


Prof Richard Hobbs
-
RAPTOR@phc.ox.ac.uk


More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.

Study Location:

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Rapid community testing for COVID-19
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Rapid community testing for COVID-19

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Mixed

Oxford

Medical Conditions

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 infection)

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


COVID-19 is a condition caused by the coronavirus (called SARS-CoV-2) that was first identified in late 2019. This virus can infect the respiratory (breathing) system. Some people do not have symptoms but can carry the virus and pass it on to others. People who have developed the condition may develop a fever and/or a continuous cough among other symptoms. This can develop into pneumonia. Pneumonia is a chest infection where the small air pockets of the lungs, called alveoli, fill with liquid and make it more difficult to breathe.
In 2020, the virus has spread to many countries around the world and neither a vaccine against the virus or specific treatment for COVID-19 has yet been developed. As of April 2020, it is advised that people minimize travel and social contact, and regularly wash their hands to reduce the spread of the virus.
Groups who are at a higher risk from infection with the virus, and therefore of developing COVID-19, include people aged over 70 years, people who have long-term health conditions (such as asthma or diabetes), people who have a weakened immune system and people who are pregnant. People in these groups, and people who might come into contact with them, can reduce this risk by following the up-to-date advice to reduce the spread of the virus.
There are currently no rapid diagnostic tests that have been evaluated as fit-for-purpose in NHS primary care that aim to identify whether adults are currently, or have been, infected by COVID-19. Accurate diagnosis of infection, identification of immunity and monitoring the clinical progression of infection are of paramount importance to our response, and for all of these diagnostics are central. Widespread population testing has proven difficult in western countries and has been limited by test availability, diagnostic test sensitivity, human resources and long turnaround times (up to 72 hours). This has limited our ability to control the spread of infection and to develop effective clinical pathways to enable early social isolation of infected patients, early treatment for those most at risk and early return to work for those with resolved infection and potential immunity. Point-of-care tests (POCTs) can be used in the community where there is no easy access to a specialist laboratory, in locations such as NHS general practices. POCTs provide quick results that allow people to get immediate advice about self-isolation and treatment, potentially blocking further spread of infection in the community. In-context evaluation of POCTs in the community is important as test accuracy can vary based on the prevalence of disease in the population tested. The severity of the COVID-19 disease in the community is much lower than in hospital patients. Symptomatic acutely unwell hospitalised patient are likely to have higher viral loads that are easier to detect, and may be undergoing invasive procedures to collect samples from the lower respiratory tract, that have a higher yield. Testing only severe patients introduces spectrum bias, and biases the results to overestimate test performance. It is important to diagnose hospital patients, but from a public health point of view the most concerning patients are ambulatory outpatients, who may spread the virus much further in the community if falsely reassured. Evaluations of COVID-19 POCTs are therefore required in each clinical setting. Community-based POCTs may lead to additional public health impacts such as reducing onward household transmission of COVID-19, improving surveillance of NHS and social care staff, accurate prevalence estimates, and understanding of COVID-19 transmission dynamics in the population. This study will provide the community testbed to the COVID-19 National Diagnostic Research and Evaluation Platform (CONDOR). Its platform design will allow for both flexibility in which POCTs are evaluated and for changes in PHE choice of reference standard.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

29 Oct 2020 15 Mar 2024

Publications

2021 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33557927/ protocol (added 10/02/2021)2023 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37478103/ Roche-branded SD Biosensor Standard™ Q SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test and/or BD Veritor™ System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 (added 24/07/2023)2023 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38103638/ LumiraDx™ SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A or B assay (added 10/04/2024)

Adult patients will be asked to consent to:
1. Answer a short questionnaire about eligibility and their clinical details
2. Use at least one, but the intention is to assess multiple, POCTs for COVID-19
3. Agree to the results of their clinical test being shared with researchers
4. The study team accessing their NHS electronic health records for 1 year
5. Further contact from the study team to track symptoms and health status (daily after the first study visit until the second visit)
6. A second visit for additional blood sampling
The parent or legal guardian of the children will be asked to provide parental consent on behalf of their child to:
1. Answer a short questionnaire about eligibility and their clinical details
2. Use at least one, but the intention is to assess multiple, POCTs for COVID-19
3. Agree to the results of their clinical test being shared with researchers
4. The study team accessing their child’s NHS electronic health records for 1 year
5. Further contact from the study team to track symptoms and health status (daily after the first study visit for 28 days)


1. Adults (aged 16 years and over) with suspected current or past COVID-19 infection having an oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal (OP/NP) swab for laboratory COVID-19 testing as part of clinical care/testing
2. Children (aged under 16 years) with suspected current COVID-19 infection having OP/NP swab for laboratory COVID-19 testing as part of clinical care/testing

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Adults unable to understand the study information and give consent to take part in the study2. Need for immediate hospitalisation3. Previously enrolled in this study in relation to the individual test being evaluated


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • University of Oxford
    Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences Radcliffe Primary Care Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter Woodstock Road
    Oxford
    OX2 6GG

There is no direct benefit to participants associated with any results of the POCTs being evaluated. The accuracy of the POCTs being tested is unknown (which is why this research is required), so the results cannot be used to guide clinical care. It is possible that patients may benefit indirectly, either because they may require testing in the future, by which time the tests being evaluated may be available or because the tests could be used to enhance the public health response to COVID-19 and may accelerate control of the pandemic. Nose and throat swabs cause some transient discomfort to patients, but there are no clinically significant risks associated with the procedure. Provision of saliva samples is unlikely to cause discomfort to any participants. To mitigate these risks, self-sampling will be supported where appropriate, otherwise these procedures will be carried out by personnel who have received training in these procedures or who carry out these procedures as a routine element of their duties.

Ms Mary Logan
-
raptor@phc.ox.ac.uk


Dr Brian Nicolson
-
raptor@phc.ox.ac.uk


Prof Richard Hobbs
-
RAPTOR@phc.ox.ac.uk



More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.


The study is sponsored by University of Oxford and funded by UK Research and Innovation; Medical Research Council; Lumira DX UK Ltd; Roche Diagnostics; NIHR.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN14226970

Or CPMS 46023

Last updated 06 February 2025

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