Rapid Classification of COVID-19 Severity by ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy of Plasma Samples
Arghya Banerjee1, Abhiram Gokhale1, Renuka Bankar1
1Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, India.
Insights
Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy shows promise as a rapid blood test for classifying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. This low-cost tool can aid in patient triage during outbreaks.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Spectroscopy
- Clinical Diagnostics
- Infectious Disease Research
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed healthcare systems, necessitating rapid patient triage.
- Existing methods using age and comorbidities are insufficient for accurately assessing COVID-19 severity.
- A need exists for quick, reliable tools to stratify patients requiring hospitalization or intensive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy as a rapid diagnostic tool for COVID-19 severity.
- To develop and validate predictive models for COVID-19 patient classification using ATR-FTIR spectral data combined with clinical parameters.
- To assess the potential of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a cost-effective triage solution.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 160 COVID-19 patients was analyzed using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy on plasma samples.
- A standardized plasma processing method involving 75% ethanol for viral inactivation was established.
- Partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were built and tested using spectral and clinical data.
Main Results:
- Incorporating ATR-FTIR spectra into clinical parameters significantly improved the accuracy of COVID-19 severity classification (AUC increased from 69.3% to 85.7% in training, 77.8% to 85.1% in testing).
- The independent test set demonstrated high sensitivity (94.1%) and moderate specificity (69.2%) for severity prediction.
- Diabetes mellitus and specific FTIR spectral regions (1020-1090 cm-1, 1588-1592 cm-1) were identified as key predictors.
Conclusions:
- ATR-FTIR spectroscopy holds significant potential as a rapid, low-cost tool for triaging COVID-19 patients.
- This spectroscopic method can enhance clinical decision-making and patient management during outbreaks.
- Further validation may establish ATR-FTIR as a valuable addition to diagnostic capabilities for infectious diseases.
Abstract:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to ravage the world, with many hospitals overwhelmed by the large number of patients presenting during major outbreaks. A rapid triage for COVID-19 patient requiring hospitalization and intensive care is urgently needed. Age and comorbidities have been associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 but are not sufficient to triage patients. Here, we investigated the potential of attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy as a rapid blood test for classification of COVID-19 disease severity using a cohort of 160 COVID-19 patients. A simple plasma processing and ATR-FTIR data acquisition procedure was established using 75% ethanol for viral inactivation. Next, partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were developed and tested using data from 130 and 30 patients, respectively. Addition of the ATR-FTIR spectra to the clinical parameters (age, sex, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension) increased the area under the ROC curve (C-statistics) for both the training and test data sets, from 69.3% (95% CI 59.8-78.9%) to 85.7% (78.6-92.8%) and 77.8% (61.3-94.4%) to 85.1% (71.3-98.8%), respectively. The independent test set achieved 69.2% specificity (42.4-87.3%) and 94.1% sensitivity (73.0-99.0%). Diabetes mellitus was the strongest predictor in the model, followed by FTIR regions 1020-1090 and 1588-1592 cm-1. In summary, this study demonstrates the potential of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a rapid, low-cost COVID-19 severity triage tool to facilitate COVID-19 patient management during an outbreak.
