Application status and result interpretation of novel coronavirus laboratory test method / 医学研究生学报

ABSTRACT

For novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), rapid and effective methods for timely and definite diagnosis of patients with different disease courses and suspected patients are urgently needed in clinical practice. Nucleic acid test (NAT) is the primary means of etiological examination. The test of specific IgM and IgG helps not only the disease diagnosis, but also the infection stage assessment. In clinical practice, there is a problem of "false negatives" in NAT, while antibody test can make up for the risk of "missing cases" in NAT to a certain extent. In this paper, the laboratory test method of COVID-19 will be discussed from the current situation and application evaluation of NAT, the cause analysis of "false negatives", and the value and prospect of antibody test.