Current laboratory diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China; it has since caused a pandemic, with more than 10,000 confirmed cases (> 800,000 tests) in Korea as of May 2020. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is currently the most commonly used method for the diagnosis of COVID-19 worldwide. The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine and Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control regularly update the guidelines for COVID-19 diagnosis. Emergency use authorization for some laboratory diagnostic kits has been granted, enabling the timely diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, and the isolation of infected patients. Due to the collective efforts of the government, medical professionals, local authorities, and the public, Korea's response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been accepted widely as a model. Here, we summarize the currently available laboratory tests for COVID-19 diagnosis. Although RT-PCR tests are used widely to confirm COVID-19, antibody tests could provide information about immune responses to the virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Diagnosis; Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; Serology.

Figure 1.

Coronavirus disease 2019 diagnosis using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. IC, internal control; PC, positive control; PS, positive specimen; Rn, normalized reporter (normalized fluorescence signal of reporter dye); Ct, cycle threshold.

Figure 2.

Diagram of a proposed point-of-care testing procedure for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza diagnosis.