Laboratory medicine in pandemic of COVID-19

Abstract

After the outbreak in China in the year 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) quickly spread around the world causing a protracted pandemic. Approximately one-third of infections appear to be asymptomatic. Symptomatic disease is characterized primarily by symptoms of respiratory tract infection of varying severity. But Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is much more than an acute respiratory disease because SARS-CoV-2 affects many organs inducing a vast number of symptoms such as cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, dermatological, with numerous complications. Short and long-term effects of infection, severe ones, and especially mild forms of the disease which affect a huge number of patients need to be further investigated. Laboratory medicine has a crucial role in early diagnosis of the disease, recognition of the patients who need hospital care, and close monitoring of hospitalized patients to timely identify associated clinical complications as well as follow-up of patients with long-term COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; GDF-15; Guillain-Barré syndrome; infertility; interleukin-6.

Figure 1

Comparison of serum IL-6 concentrations between the group with the non-fatal outcome and the group with the fatal outcome by Mann-Whitney test. The median concentration of IL-6 in the group with the non-fatal outcome was 24 pg/mL (IQR 11-53) and for the group with fatal outcome was 472 pg/mL (IQR 119-2116). IL-6 – interleukin-6. SARS-CoV-2 – severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2. IQR – interquartile range.

Figure 2

Comparison of serum GDF-15 concentrations between the group with the fatal outcome and the group with the non-fatal outcome by Student´s t-test. The mean ± SD concentration of GDF-15 in the group with the fatal outcome (N = 35) was 10,259 ± 4538 pg/mL and for the group with non-fatal outcome (N = 44) was 5067 ± 2980 pg/mL. GDF-15 – Growth differentiation factor 15. SARS-CoV-2 – severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2. SD – standard deviation.