Recent advances in methods for the diagnosis of Corona Virus Disease 2019

Since the beginning of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, it has been clear that effective methods for the diagnosis of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) are the key tools to control its epidemic. The current gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19 is the real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), which is a sensitive and specific method to detect SARS-CoV-2. Other RNA-based methods include RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), droplet digital reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (ddRT-PCR), reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). The serological testing of antibodies (IgM and IgG), nanoparticle-based lateral-flow assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) can be used to enhance the detection sensitivity and accuracy. Because antibodies are usually detected a week after the onset of symptoms, these tests are used to assess the overall infection rate in the community. Sine the fact that healthcare varies from country to country across the world, different types of diagnosing COVID-19 imaging technologies including chest computed tomography (CT), chest radiography, and lung ultrasound are used in different degrees. Besides, the pooling test is an important public health tool to reduce cost and increase testing capacity in low-risk area, while artificial intelligence (AI) may aid to increase the diagnostic efficiency of imaging-based methods. Finally, depending on the type of samples and stages of the disease, a combination of information on patient demographics and histories, clinical symptoms, results of molecular and serological diagnostic tests, and imaging information is highly recommended to achieve adequate diagnosis of patients with COVID-19.

Automated summary

Effective methods for diagnosing COVID-19 include qRT-PCR, RNA sequencing, serological testing, and imaging technologies. Varying healthcare systems around the world lead to different diagnostic tools being used, with artificial intelligence improving efficiency in imaging-based methods.