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Evaluation of a Point-of-Care Testing Analyzer for Measuring Peripheral Blood Leukocytes
Published on: March 22, 2022
COVID-19 and the clinical hematology laboratory
John L Frater1, Gina Zini2,3, Giuseppe d'Onofrio2
1Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Insights
This review covers the COVID-19 pandemic, its laboratory diagnosis, and the role of hematology biomarkers. It also addresses laboratory safety and educational impacts during the global health crisis.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by a novel coronavirus, emerged in Wuhan, China.
- The virus shares similarities with SARS and MERS, primarily causing respiratory symptoms.
- A subset of patients develop severe complications like acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide context on the COVID-19 pandemic's origins and progression.
- To detail the clinical laboratory's role in diagnosing COVID-19.
- To review hematology biomarkers, laboratory safety, and educational impacts related to the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Analysis of laboratory diagnostic roles and biomarker studies.
- Examination of impacts on laboratory safety and education.
Main Results:
- Clinical laboratories are crucial for COVID-19 diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring.
- Hematology-derived biomarkers offer insights into disease severity and course.
- The pandemic significantly affected laboratory safety protocols and global educational activities.
Conclusions:
- The clinical laboratory is indispensable in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Hematology plays a key role in understanding and managing COVID-19 patients.
- Pandemic preparedness must include laboratory safety and adaptable educational strategies.
Abstract:
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. The etiologic agent is a novel coronavirus of presumed zoonotic origin with structural similarity to the viruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Like SARS and MERS, COVID-19 infection manifests most frequently with lower respiratory symptoms. A minority of patients progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome/ diffuse alveolar damage. In addition to its central role in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, the clinical laboratory provides critical information to clinicians regarding prognosis, disease course, and response to therapy. The purpose of this review is to (a) provide background context about the origins and course of the pandemic, (b) discuss the laboratory's role in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, (c) summarize the current state of biomarker analysis in COVID-19 infection, with an emphasis on markers derived from the hematology laboratory, (d) comment on the impact of COVID-19 on hematology laboratory safety, and (e) describe the impact the pandemic has had on organized national and international educational activities worldwide.
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