自2019年12月以来,我们一直在战场上面临着对人类的新威胁,即严重急性呼吸道综合症冠状病毒2(SARS-CoV-2)。在这次审查中,我们描述了用于诊断的四种主要方法,SARS-CoV-2的筛查和/或监测:实时逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR);胸部计算机断层扫描(CT);以及为获得快速结果而开发的不同补充替代品,抗原和抗体检测。所有这些都从分析的角度比较了突出的优点和缺点。就灵敏度和特异性而言,金标准方法是RT-PCR。还提出并讨论了不同的修改建议,以使其更快,更适用于护理点(POC)。CT图像仅限于中心医院。然而,结合RT-PCR是确认COVID-19感染的最可靠、最准确的方法。抗体试验,尽管无法提供有关感染状况的可靠结果,适用于对人群进行最大程度的筛查,以了解其免疫能力。最近,抗原试验,不如RT-PCR灵敏,已被授权以更快的方式确定患者在分析时是否被感染,而不需要特定的仪器。
Since December 2019, we have been in the battlefield with a new threat to the humanity known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this review, we describe the four main methods used for diagnosis, screening and/or surveillance of SARS-CoV-2: Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); chest computed tomography (CT); and different complementary alternatives developed in order to obtain rapid results, antigen and antibody detection. All of them compare the highlighting advantages and disadvantages from an analytical point of view. The gold standard method in terms of sensitivity and specificity is the RT-PCR. The different modifications propose to make it more rapid and applicable at point of care (POC) are also presented and discussed. CT images are limited to central hospitals. However, being combined with RT-PCR is the most robust and accurate way to confirm COVID-19 infection. Antibody tests, although unable to provide reliable results on the status of the infection, are suitable for carrying out maximum screening of the population in order to know the immune capacity. More recently, antigen tests, less sensitive than RT-PCR, have been authorized to determine in a quicker way whether the patient is infected at the time of analysis and without the need of specific instruments.