Navigating the Diagnostics of COVID-19

Abstract

The recent outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began in Hubei province, China, in December 2019 and has spread worldwide at an alarming rate. With over eight million individuals infected and exceeding 400,000 deaths globally, the necessity to develop fast and efficient diagnostic methods is of high importance. This paper reports on currently available diagnostic screening methods for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 to guide frontline healthcare workers involved with the diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient. An electronic literature search was performed for peer-reviewed articles published from January 1, 2020, until June 19, 2020. Published articles were then reviewed and included based on the applicability to the topic. The preferred diagnostic approach is the reverse transcription (RT) of the virus’ ribonucleic acid (RNA) followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification (RT-PCR). However, this method has been proven to be time-consuming. In improving the speed and efficiency of diagnostics, newer rapid diagnostic serological tests are in development for testing SARS-CoV-2, each with its unique advantages and disadvantages. They could potentially be used as triage tests to rapidly identify patients who are very likely to have COVID-19 in combination with other accurate diagnostic methods, such as diagnostic imaging. A combination of the disease history, clinical manifestations, laboratory diagnostic testing, and diagnostic imaging is crucial for making an accurate and useful diagnosis for COVID-19. Hopefully, the continuous development and use of rapid diagnostic tests and the implementation of public health measures will help control the spread of the disease.

Current and innovative methods for the diagnosis of COVID‑19 infection (Review)

“…At present, several diagnostic methods have been approved by regulatory agencies worldwide; however, there is still confusion regarding the correct tests to be used based on the patient's medical history or the investigation purpose ( 16 ). As regards Europe, there are 365 different commercialized devices CE-IVD- and FDA-approved or used for research purposes.…”

Is there an association between hypothyroidism and COVID 19?

“…The coronavirus epidemic has been declared as a public health emergency and has affected millions of people worldwide. There is evidence to suggest that people with comorbidities like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, hypertension, and cancer are more susceptible, have increased morbidity and mortality associated with the infection [ 1 ]. The evidence regarding hypothyroidism or thyroid disorders is still conflicting with some studies pointing out a correlation [ 2 ] and others refuting it [ 3 ].…”

“…Of these patients 21 were reported to have COVID 19 infection through RT-PCR, this included 18 females and 3 males. Out of these 21 patients, 14 patients had other comorbidities like diabetes [ 2 ], hypertension [ 5 ] and other comorbidities [ 1 ], the other 7 had hypothyroidism alone. The average age of hypothyroid patients who were COVID 19 positive was 44.9 years (Table 1 ).…”

Development and validation of a simplified nomogram predicting individual critical illness of risk in COVID‐19: A retrospective study

“…So far, most of the studies have highlighted the predisposing factors related to the severity or prognosis of COVID‐19, but few studies have investigated the progress of the disease by comprehensive evaluation and integration of laboratory tests and imaging results 35 . A recent study developed a nomogram to early predict severe COVID‐19, which integrated age, lactate dehydrogenase, red blood cell distribution width (RDW), direct bilirubin, albumin, blood urea nitrogen, and CRP.…”