Fig. 4: Lateral flow test user pathways.
From: Lateral flow test engineering and lessons learned from COVID-19
a, A generalized schema of clinical user journeys, following a lateral flow test (LFT) in a variety of settings. Not all steps will be required for all conditions (such as COVID-19, malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)). Steps that are specific to certain types of infection and not relevant to all are shown in red. For example, contact tracing and quarantine are required for COVID-19, but not for malaria. Post-exposure prophylaxis is important in some diseases for high-risk groups (for example, post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, and oseltamivir for influenza). There is good evidence that LFT user pathways effectively link patients to care, particularly following a positive test result for conditions such as malaria and HIV185. b, The concept of a future m-Health system including an automated LFT classifier and data capture and transmission to a secure m-Health database. Beyond LFT data capture, care and surveillance systems (for example, District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2)) data could be linked to laboratory information systems, stock supply management, staff training and LFT quality control. RDT, rapid diagnostic test. Part b reprinted from ref. 19, Springer Nature Limited.
