Open AccessMolecular and serology methods in the diagnosis of COVID-19: An overview
Author(s) -
Marcel Silva Luz,
RT da Silva Júnior,
GA Santos de Santana,
Gabriela Rodrigues,
Henrique de Lima Crivellaro,
Mariana Santos Calmon,
CFSM dos Santos,
Luis Guilherme de Oliveira Silva,
Qesya Rodrigues Ferreira,
Guilherme Rabelo Mota,
Heloísa Heim,
Filipe Antônio França da Silva,
BB de Brito,
FF de Melo
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
world journal of methodology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2222-0682
DOI - 10.5662/wjm.v12.i3.83
Subject(s) - serology , gold standard (test) , coronavirus , covid-19 , medicine , pandemic , pneumonia , virology , middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus , antibody , immunology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic, being a global health concern since December 2019 when the first cases were reported. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the COVID-19 causal agent, is a β-coronavirus that has on its surface the spike protein, which helps in its virulence and pathogenicity towards the host. Thus, effective and applicable diagnostic methods to this disease come as an important tool for the management of the patients. The use of the molecular technique PCR, which allows the detection of the viral RNA through nasopharyngeal swabs, is considered the gold standard test for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Moreover, serological methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and rapid tests, are able to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin M, and immunoglobulin G in positive patients, being important alternative techniques for the diagnostic establishment and epidemiological surveillance. On the other hand, reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification also proved to be a useful diagnostic method for the infection, mainly because it does not require a sophisticated laboratory apparatus and has similar specificity and sensitivity to PCR. Complementarily, imaging exams provide findings of typical pneumonia, such as the ground-glass opacity radiological pattern on chest computed tomography scanning, which along with laboratory tests assist in the diagnosis of COVID-19.