COVID-19 paraclinical diagnostic tools: Updates and future trends

Curr Res Transl Med. 2020 Aug;68(3):83-91. doi: 10.1016/j.retram.2020.06.001. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Abstract

Motivation: COVID-19 is one of the most widely affecting pandemics. As for many respiratory viruses-caused diseases, diagnosis of COVID-19 relies on two main compartments: clinical and paraclinical diagnostic criteria. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is vital in such a pandemic. On one side, rapidity may enhance management effectiveness, while on the other, coupling efficiency and less costly procedures may permit more effective community-scale management.

Methodology and main structure: In this review, we shed light on the most used and the most validated diagnostic tools. Furthermore, we intend to include few under-development techniques that may be potentially useful in this context. The practical intent of our work is to provide clinicians with a realistic summarized review of the essential elements in the applied paraclinical diagnosis of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; CT; Diagnosis; Paraclinical; rRT-PCR.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification
  • Betacoronavirus / physiology
  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques / classification
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques / methods*
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques / trends*
  • Coronavirus Infections / classification
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Emergency Medical Services / methods
  • Emergency Medical Technicians* / organization & administration
  • Emergency Medical Technicians* / trends
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Time Factors