COVID-19: Diagnostic methodologies

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i5.15114

Keywords:

Coronavirus; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; Serology; Molecular biology; Literature review.

Abstract

The first cases of COVID-19 were registered in the city of Wuhan (China) in December 2019. The disease caused by the new Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) initially affects the respiratory tract and its clinical effects can lead to organic dysfunction in the host. In this context, laboratory tests are diagnostic tools of great relevance for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, confirmation of the disease and evaluation of systemic dysfunctions caused by the virus. Thus, this study aimed to conduct an up-to-date about COVID-19 and discuss the diagnostic methodologies of SARS-CoV-2 and its effects in laboratory tests. The present study was performed between January 1st and May 31st, 2020 based on data from works published in scientific journals available in full. For that, PubMed, Science Direct and Scielo databases was used besides the following descriptors in English: coronavirus, covid-19, sars-cov-2, laboratory medicine, laboratory tests, laboratory findings, RT-PCR, immunochromatography and chemiluminescence. In total, 2810 related scientific articles were found, of which only 24 were considered relevant for the study. SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in respiratory samples using laboratory diagnostic methodologies such as RT-PCR (Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction) or by detecting antibodies through immunochromatographic, immunosorbent and chemiluminescent tests. In addition, hematological changes related to the leukogram, changes in the coagulation panel, changes in liver and kidney markers as well as inflammatory markers can be observed. Finally, the diagnostic tools have been crucial for monitoring the patient with symptoms of COVID, providing support to clinicians in decision-making.

References

Ai, T., Yang, Z., Hou, H., Zhan, C., Chen, C., Lv, W., Tao, Q., Sun, Z., & Xia, L. (2020). Correlation of Chest CT and RT-PCR Testing for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China: A Report of 1014 Cases. Radiology, 296(2), E32–E40. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2020200642

Andersen, K. G., Rambaut, A., Lipkin, W. I., Holmes, E. C., & Garry, R. F. (2020). The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nature Medicine, 26(4), 450–452. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0820-9

Barros, E., Xavier, R. M., & Dora, J. M. (2016). Laboratório na prática clínica: consulta rápida (3rd ed.). ARTMED.

Brasil. (2020). Doença pelo coronavírus 2019. Especial Vigilância Epidemiológica Laboratorial. Boletim Epidemiológico. In Ministério da Saúde. https://portalarquivos.saude.gov.br/images/pdf/2020/April/19/BE12-Boletim-do-COE.pdf

Cai, X., Chen, J., Hu, J., Long, Q., Deng, H., Fan, K., Liao, P., Liu, B., Wu, G., Chen, Y., Li, Z., Wang, K., Zhang, X., Tian, W., Xiang, J., Du, H., Wang, J., Hu, Y., Tang, N., … Wang, D. (2020). A Peptide-based Magnetic Chemiluminescence Enzyme Immunoassay for Serological Diagnosis of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.22.20026617

Chan, J. F. W., Yip, C. C. Y., To, K. K. W., Tang, T. H. C., Wong, S. C. Y., Leung, K. H., Fung, A. Y. F., Ng, A. C. K., Zou, Z., Tsoi, H. W., Choi, G. K. Y., Tam, A. R., Cheng, V. C. C., Chan, K. H., Tsan, O. T. Y., & Yuen, K. Y. (2020). Improved molecular diagnosis of COVID-19 by the novel, highly sensitive and specific COVID-19-RdRp/Hel real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay validated in vitro and with clinical specimens. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 58(5). https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00310-20

Chen, L., Liu, H. G., Liu, W., Liu, J., Liu, K., Shang, J., Deng, Y., & Wei, S. (2020). Analysis of clinical features of 29 patients with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia. Zhonghua jie he he hu xi za zhi = Zhonghua jiehe he huxi zazhi = Chinese journal of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases, 43(0), E005. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.issn.1001-0939.2020.0005

Chen, X., Yang, Y., Huang, M., Liu, L., Zhang, X., Xu, J., Geng, S., Han, B., Xiao, J., & Wan, Y. (2020). Differences between COVID-19 and suspected then confirmed SARS-CoV-2-negative pneumonia: A retrospective study from a single center. Journal of Medical Virology, 92(9), 1572–1579. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25810

Colantuoni, A., Martini, R., Caprari, P., Ballestri, M., Capecchi, P. L., Gnasso, A., Lo Presti, R., Marcoccia, A., Rossi, M., & Caimi, G. (2020). COVID-19 Sepsis and Microcirculation Dysfunction. Frontiers in Physiology, 11(June), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00747

Corman, V. M., Landt, O., Kaiser, M., Molenkamp, R., Meijer, A., Chu, D. K. W., Bleicker, T., Brünink, S., Schneider, J., Schmidt, M. L., Mulders, D. G. J. C., Haagmans, B. L., Van Der Veer, B., Van Den Brink, S., Wijsman, L., Goderski, G., Romette, J. L., Ellis, J., Zambon, M., … Drosten, C. (2020). Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR. Eurosurveillance, 25(3), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.3.2000045

Decaro, N., & Lorusso, A. (2020). Novel human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): A lesson from animal coronaviruses. Veterinary Microbiology, 244(April), 108693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2020.108693

Demey, B., Daher, N., François, C., & Lanoix, J. (2020). Dynamic profile for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using four immunochromatographic assays Baptiste. Journal of Infection, 81.

Gallagher, T. M., & Buchmeier, M. J. (2001). Coronavirus spike proteins in viral entry and pathogenesis. Virology, 279(2), 371–374. https://doi.org/10.1006/viro.2000.0757

Gorbalenya, A. E., Baker, S. C., Baric, R. S., de Groot, R. J., Drosten, C., Gulyaeva, A. A., Haagmans, B. L., Lauber, C., Leontovich, A. M., Neuman, B. W., Penzar, D., Perlman, S., Poon, L. L. M., Samborskiy, D. V., Sidorov, I. A., Sola, I., & Ziebuhr, J. (2020). The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nature Microbiology, 5(4), 536–544. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-020-0695-z

Guan, W., Ni, Z., Hu, Y., Liang, W., Ou, C., He, J., Liu, L., Shan, H., Lei, C., Hui, D. S. C., Du, B., Li, L., Zeng, G., Yuen, K. Y., Chen, R., Tang, C., Wang, T., Chen, P., Xiang, J., … Zhong, N. (2020). Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(18), 1708–1720. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2002032

Hoffmann, M., Kleine-Weber, H., Krüger, N., Müller, M., Drosten, C., & Pöhlmann, S. (2020). The novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) uses the SARS-coronavirus receptor ACE2 and the cellular protease TMPRSS2 for entry into target cells. SCIENCE, 367(6485), 1444–1448. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.31.929042

Hou, H., Zhang, B., Huang, H., Luo, Y., Wu, S., Tang, G., Liu, W., Mao, L., Mao, L., Wang, F., & Sun, Z. (2020). Using IL-2R/lymphocytes for predicting the clinical progression of patients with COVID-19. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 201(1), 76–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/cei.13450

Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Zhao, J., Hu, Y., Zhang, L., Fan, G., Xu, J., & Gu, X. (2020). Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan , China. The Lancet, 395(10223), 497–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5

Huang, Q., Deng, X., Li, Y., Sun, X., Chen, Q., Xie, M., Liu, S., Qu, H., Liu, S., Wang, L., He, G., & Gong, Z. (2020). Clinical characteristics and drug therapies in patients with the common-type coronavirus disease 2019 in Hunan, China. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 42(3), 837–845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-020-01031-2

Imai, K., Tabata, S., Ikeda, M., Noguchi, S., Kitagawa, Y., Matuoka, M., Miyoshi, K., Tarumoto, N., Sakai, J., Ito, T., Maesaki, S., Tamura, K., & Maeda, T. (2020). Clinical evaluation of an immunochromatographic IgM/IgG antibody assay and chest computed tomography for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Virology, 128(April), 104393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104393

Jin, Y., Wang, M., Zuo, Z., Fan, C., Ye, F., & Cai, Z. (2020). Diagnostic value and dynamic variance of serum antibody in coronavirus disease 2019. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 94(0), 49–52.

Kim, J. Y., Ko, J. H., Kim, Y., Kim, Y. J., Kim, J. M., Chung, Y. S., Kim, H. M., Han, M. G., Kim, S. Y., & Chin, B. S. (2020). Viral load kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in first two patients in Korea. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 35(7), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e86

Lescure, F. X., Bouadma, L., Nguyen, D., Parisey, M., Wicky, P. H., Behillil, S., Gaymard, A., Bouscambert-Duchamp, M., Donati, F., Le Hingrat, Q., Enouf, V., Houhou-Fidouh, N., Valette, M., Mailles, A., Lucet, J. C., Mentre, F., Duval, X., Descamps, D., Malvy, D., … Yazdanpanah, Y. (2020). Clinical and virological data of the first cases of COVID-19 in Europe: a case series. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(6), 697–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30200-0

Li, Qilin, Ding, X., Xia, G., Chen, H. G., Chen, F., Geng, Z., Xu, L., Lei, S., Pan, A., Wang, L., & Wang, Z. (2020). Eosinopenia and elevated C-reactive protein facilitate triage of COVID-19 patients in fever clinic: A retrospective case-control study. EClinicalMedicine, 23, 100375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100375

Li, Qun, Guan, X., Wu, P., Wang, X., Zhou, L., Tong, Y., Ren, R., Leung, K. S. M., Lau, E. H. Y., Wong, J. Y., Xing, X., Xiang, N., Wu, Y., Li, C., Chen, Q., Li, D., Liu, T., Zhao, J., Liu, M., … Feng, Z. (2020). Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(13), 1199–1207. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316

Li, Y., Yao, L., Li, J., Chen, L., Song, Y., Cai, Z., & Yang, C. (2020). Stability issues of RT-PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2 for hospitalized patients clinically diagnosed with COVID-19. Journal of Medical Virology, 92(7), 903–908. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25786

Lin, C., Lin, C., Xiang, J., Yan, M., Li, H., Huang, S., Huang, S., Shen, C., & Shen, C. (2020). Comparison of throat swabs and sputum specimens for viral nucleic acid detection in 52 cases of novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2)-infected pneumonia (COVID-19). Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 58(7), 1089–1094. https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2020-0187

Ling, Y., Xu, S. B., Lin, Y. X., Tian, D., Zhu, Z. Q., Dai, F. H., Wu, F., Song, Z. G., Huang, W., Chen, J., Hu, B. J., Wang, S., Mao, E. Q., Zhu, L., Zhang, W. H., & Lu, H. Z. (2020). Persistence and clearance of viral RNA in 2019 novel coronavirus disease rehabilitation patients. Chinese Medical Journal, 133(9), 1039–1043. https://doi.org/10.1097/CM9.0000000000000774

Lippi, G., & Plebani, M. (2020). Laboratory abnormalities in patients with COVID-2019 infection. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 58(7), 1131–1134. https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2020-0198

Lippi, G., Plebani, M., & Henry, B. M. (2020). Thrombocytopenia is associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections: A meta-analysis. Clinica Chimica Acta, 506(March), 145–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2020.03.022

Lippi, G., Salvagno, G. L., Pegoraro, M., Militello, V., Caloi, C., Peretti, A., Gaino, S., Bassi, A., Bovo, C., & Lo Cascio, G. (2020). Assessment of immune response to SARS-CoV-2 with fully automated MAGLUMI 2019-nCoV IgG and IgM chemiluminescence immunoassays. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 58(7), 1156–1159. https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2020-0473

Liu, K., Fang, Y. Y., Deng, Y., Liu, W., Wang, M. F., Ma, J. P., Xiao, W., Wang, Y. N., Zhong, M. H., Li, C. H., Li, G. C., & Liu, H. G. (2020). Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus cases in tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province. Chinese Medical Journal, 133(9), 1025–1031. https://doi.org/10.1097/CM9.0000000000000744

Liu, R., Han, H., Liu, F., Lv, Z., Wu, K., Liu, Y., & Feng, Y. (2020). Positive rate of RT-PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 4880 cases from one hospital in Wuhan, China, from Jan to Feb 2020. Clinica Chimica Acta, 505(January).

Padoan, A., Padoan, A., Cosma, C., Sciacovelli, L., Faggian, D., Plebani, M., & Plebani, M. (2020). Analytical performances of a chemiluminescence immunoassay for SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG and antibody kinetics. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 58(7), 1081–1088. https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2020-0443

Pan, Y., Li, X., Yang, G., Fan, J., Tang, Y., Zhao, J., Long, X., Guo, S., Zhao, Z., Liu, Y., Hu, H., Xue, H., & Li, Y. (2020). Serological immunochromatographic approach in diagnosis with SARS-CoV-2 infected COVID-19 patients. Journal of Infection, 81(1), e28–e32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.051

Paoli, D., Pallotti, F., Colangelo, S., Basilico, F., Mazzuti, L., Turriziani, O., Antonelli, G., Lenzi, A., & Lombardo, F. (2020). Study of SARS-CoV-2 in semen and urine samples of a volunteer with positive naso-pharyngeal swab. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 0123456789, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-020-01261-1

Peng, L., Liu, J., Xu, W., Luo, Q., Chen, D., Lei, Z., Huang, Z., Li, X., Deng, K., Lin, B., & Gao, Z. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in urine, blood, anal swabs, and oropharyngeal swabs specimens. Journal of Medical Virology, 92(9), 1676–1680. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25936

Shen, B., Zheng, Y., Zhang, X., Zhang, W., Wang, D., Jin, J., Lin, R., Zhang, Y., Zhu, G., Zhu, H., Li, J., Xu, J., Ding, X., Chen, S., Lu, R., He, Z., Zhao, H., Ying, L., Zhang, C., … Gao, H. (2020). Clinical evaluation of a rapid colloidal gold immunochromatography assay for SARS-Cov-2 IgM/IgG. American Journal of Translational Research, 12(4), 1348–1354.

Su, L., Ma, X., Yu, H., Zhang, Z., Bian, P., Han, Y., Sun, J., Liu, Y., Yang, C., Geng, J., Zhang, Z., & Gai, Z. (2020). The different clinical characteristics of corona virus disease cases between children and their families in China–the character of children with COVID-19. Emerging Microbes and Infections, 9(1), 707–713. https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2020.1744483

Sui-Lee, W., Donald G., M. J., & Javier C., H. (2020). W.H.O. Declares Global Emergency as Wuhan Coronavirus Spreads. The New York Times. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---29-june-2020

Tortora, G. J., Funke, B. R., & Case, C. L. (2016). Mcrobiologia (Artmed (ed.); 12th ed.).

Wang, W., Xu, Y., Gao, R., Lu, R., Han, K., Wu, G., & Tan, W. (2020). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Different Types of Clinical Specimens. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, 323(18), 1843–1844. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.3786

Wang, X., Tan, L., Wang, X., Liu, W., Lu, Y., Cheng, L., & Sun, Z. (2020). Comparison of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 detection in 353 patients received tests with both specimens simultaneously. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 94, 107–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.023

Wishaupt, J. O., Ploeg, T. Van Der, Smeets, L. C., & Groot, R. De. (2020). Pitfalls in interpretation of CT-values of RT-PCR in children with acute respiratory tract infections. Journal of Clinical Virology, 90(January), 1–6.

World Health Organization. (2020). Novel Coronavirus(2019-nCoV). WHO Bulletin, February, 1–7. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200211-sitrep-22-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=fb6d49b1_2

Wu, F., Zhao, S., Yu, B., Chen, Y. M., Wang, W., Song, Z. G., Hu, Y., Tao, Z. W., Tian, J. H., Pei, Y. Y., Yuan, M. L., Zhang, Y. L., Dai, F. H., Liu, Y., Wang, Q. M., Zheng, J. J., Xu, L., Holmes, E. C., & Zhang, Y. Z. (2020). A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature, 579(7798), 265–269. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2008-3

Wu, L., O’Kane, A. M., Peng, H., Bi, Y., Motriuk-Smith, D., & Ren, J. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 and cardiovascular complications: From molecular mechanisms to pharmaceutical management. Biochemical Pharmacology, 178(June), 114114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114114

Wu, Y., Guo, C., Tang, L., Hong, Z., Zhou, J., Dong, X., Yin, H., Xiao, Q., Tang, Y., Qu, X., Kuang, L., Fang, X., Mishra, N., Lu, J., Shan, H., Jiang, G., & Huang, X. (2020). Prolonged presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in faecal samples. The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 5(5), 434–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30083-2

Younes, N., Al-SAdeq, D. W., Al-Jighefee, H., Younes, S., Al-Jamal, O., Daas, H. I., Yassine, H. m., & Nasrallah, G. K. (2020). Challenges in Laboratory Diagnosis of the Novel. Viruses, 12(6), 582.

Yu, F., Yan, L., Wang, N., Yang, S., Wang, L., Tang, Y., Gao, G., Wang, S., Ma, C., Xie, R., Wang, F., Tan, C., Zhu, L., Guo, Y., & Zhang, F. (2020). Quantitative Detection and Viral Load Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in Infected Patients. Clinical Infectious Diseases : An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 71(15), 793–798. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa345

Zhang, C., Shi, L., & Wang, F. S. (2020). Liver injury in COVID-19: management and challenges. The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 5(5), 428–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30057-1

Zhang, G., Zhang, J., Wang, B., Zhu, X., Wang, Q., & Qiu, S. (2020). Analysis of clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of 95 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a retrospective analysis. Respiratory Research, 21, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-17712/v1

Zhou, P., Yang, X. Lou, Wang, X. G., Hu, B., Zhang, L., Zhang, W., Si, H. R., Zhu, Y., Li, B., Huang, C. L., Chen, H. D., Chen, J., Luo, Y., Guo, H., Jiang, R. Di, Liu, M. Q., Chen, Y., Shen, X. R., Wang, X., … Shi, Z. L. (2020). A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature, 579(7798), 270–273. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7

Zhu, N., Zhang, D., Wang, W., Li, X., Yang, B., Song, J., Zhao, X., Huang, B., Shi, W., Lu, R., Niu, P., Zhan, F., Ma, X., Wang, D., Xu, W., Wu, G., Gao, G. F., & Tan, W. (2020). A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(8), 727–733. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2001017

Downloads

Published

14/05/2021

How to Cite

SANTOS-NETO, A. G. dos .; SANTOS, A. de F. .; SANTOS, J. R. dos; ALVES, L. L. .; RAMOS , A. C. S. .; SANTANA, A. A. M.; SANTOS, I. D. D. dos .; GASPAR, L. M. do A. C. . COVID-19: Diagnostic methodologies . Research, Society and Development, [S. l.], v. 10, n. 5, p. e48810515114, 2021. DOI: 10.33448/rsd-v10i5.15114. Disponível em: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/15114. Acesso em: 19 apr. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 5

Section

Agrarian and Biological Sciences

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Agenor Gomes dos Santos-Neto; Alessandro de França Santos; Jhonata Rodrigues dos Santos; Lumar Lucena Alves; Anne Caroline Santos Ramos ; Adilson Allef Moraes Santana; Izabella Dayane Dorta dos Santos; Lívia Maria do Amorim Costa Gaspar

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.