ABSTRACT
Identification of computerized tomography (CT) characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential to early diagnosis and treatment of patients and stage the disease according to the appearance of the lung field involvement. The CT chest images of a patient with severe SARS-CoV-2 were collected to assess the CT findings and characteristics. Patchy ground-glass opacities (GGO) were found in some upper lung zones with right upper lung interlobar septal thickening and formation of consolidation throughout the middle and lower zones of the lungs of Crazy Paving pattern type. The remaining lung tissue is directly proportional to the measured oxygen concentration in a severe symptomatic COVID-19 case. These findings are beneficial for early detection and assessment of the severity of SARS-CoV-2.
ABSTRACT
Viral hazards have suddenly increased in the form of the century's biggest pandemic through COVID-19. However, viruses are also associated with other human diseases, the severity of which range from the mild common cold to deleterious cancers and HIV. Conventional anti-viral therapies that have been developed to mitigate deleterious viral effects have not stood the test of time owing to their numerous limitations. This has burdened the research community worldwide with the challenging task of discovering advanced anti-viral strategies to overcome the limitations being faced. In this regard, fortunately, metal and inorganic nanoparticles offer respite as they exhibit tremendous anti-viral potential and are considered a powerful weapon against viral intrusions. Metal nanoparticles of various metals such as silver, gold, and copper have not only successfully attenuated the infectivity of malignant viruses (HIV, HSV, HINI, etc.) in in vitro conditions and in vivo conditions (mainly silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles) but have also successfully overcome the limitations faced by conventional anti-viral therapies. Acting in a resistance insensitive, age and co-morbidity independent and low cytotoxic manner, metal nanoparticles can successfully inhibit viral entry and other viral development processes. In the light of the mechanisms and advantages offered by metal nanoparticles, it is suggested to consider their usage in actual clinical practice rather than as an alternate therapy. Further, considering the mechanisms exhibited by metal nanoparticles to deprive the viral load, we anticipate that the current pandemic (COVID-19) can be treated to some extent via the aid of metal nanoparticles. The successful implication of the hypothesized mechanisms can offer abating strategies to combat the current pandemic and open new avenues to cope with future pandemics. In this prospective, we provide the frontiers and current scenario of various classes of nanoparticles being explored for antiviral activities.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To review the available literature concerning the effectiveness of the COVID-19 diagnostic tools. BACKGROUND: With the absence of specific treatment/vaccines for the coronavirus COVID-19, the most appropriate approach to control this infection is to quarantine people and isolate symptomatic people and suspected or infected cases. Although real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay is considered the first tool to make a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 disease, the high false negative rate, low sensitivity, limited supplies and strict requirements for laboratory settings might delay accurate diagnosis. Computed tomography (CT) has been reported as an important tool to identify and investigate suspected patients with COVID-19 disease at early stage. KEY FINDINGS: RT-PCR shows low sensitivity (60-71%) in diagnosing patients with COVID-19 infection compared to the CT chest. Several studies reported that chest CT scans show typical imaging features in all patients with COVID-19. This high sensitivity and initial presentation in CT chest can be helpful in rectifying false negative results obtained from RT-PCR. As COVID-19 has similar manifestations to other pneumonia diseases, artificial intelligence (AI) might help radiologists to differentiate COVID-19 from other pneumonia diseases. CONCLUSION: Although CT scan is a powerful tool in COVID-19 diagnosis, it is not sufficient to detect COVID-19 alone due to the low specificity (25%), and challenges that radiologists might face in differentiating COVID-19 from other viral pneumonia on chest CT scans. AI might help radiologists to differentiate COVID-19 from other pneumonia diseases. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Both RT-PCR and CT tests together would increase sensitivity and improve quarantine efficacy, an impact neither could achieve alone.