Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Systematic Review of Diagnostic Performance and Implementation Readiness

Background: Point-of-care (POC) diagnostics could improve timely diagnosis of skin neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs) in settings with limited access to laboratory services. However, evidence on their diagnostic performance, operational feasibility and readiness for decentralized implementation remains fragmented. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and grey literature sources for studies evaluating POC diagnostic technologies for skin NTDs. Diagnostic performance, evidence maturity and operational characteristics were synthesized narratively because of heterogeneity across technologies, populations, reference standards, and reported outcomes. Diagnostic-accuracy studies were assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2). Results: A short summary of the article’s main findings. Conclusions: POC diagnostics for skin NTDs show promising technological development but uneven evidence of maturity. Molecular technologies have generally progressed further in analytical development than in clinical and field validation, while simpler rapid tests have greater field experience but variable performance. Future research should prioritize prospective clinical and implementation-focused evaluation of complete diagnostic workflows in representative endemic settings.