Abstract
Successful treatment outcomes for viral respiratory tract infections presenting from primary health care to quaternary hospitals will only be achieved with rapid, sensitive and specific identification of pathogens to allow effective pathogen-specific antiviral therapy and infection control measures. Areas covered: This review aims to explore the different point-of-care tests currently available to diagnose viral respiratory tract infections, discuss the advantages and limitations of point-of-care testing, and provide insights into the future of point-of-care tests. The following databases were searched: Medline (January 1996 to 30 September 2017) and Embase (1988 to 30 September 2017), using the following keywords: 'point of care', 'respiratory virus', 'influenza', 'RSV', 'diagnostics', 'nucleic acid test' and 'PCR'. Expert commentary: Viral respiratory tract infections cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, and point-of-care tests are facilitating the rapid identification of the pathogen responsible given the similarities in clinical presentation.