Small study suggests quick, cheap home COVID-19 tests are as effective as PCR testing

US scientists set out to compare the performance of rapid, cheap home COVID-19 tests called 'direct antigen rapid tests' (DARTs) with lab-based  'quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction' (qRT-PCR) tests on self-collected nasal specimens from 257 people. The participants tested themselves twice weekly for six months using the DART tests, and the results were compared with qRT-PCR tests. During the study period, 15 participants caught COVID-19, and the DART tests picked up all 15 cases. In one case, PCR detected COVID-19 one day before the DART test, but in another, the DART test detected the disease one day before the PCR test. Regularly using DART tests at home would allow infected individuals to be identified and quarantined immediately, the authors say, which could prevent viral transmission at work or in other social settings.