CONSIDERATIONS ON SARS-COV-2 DIAGNOSIS IN THE LABORATORY OF UNIVERSITY EMERGENCY CLINICAL HOSPITAL OF CONSTANTA

Abstract

Coronaviruses are members of the Coronaviridae family. They are enveloped, non-segmented, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. Their genome size is about 30 kilobases (kb) which consist, at the 5’ end, of non-structural open reading frames (ORFs: ORF1a, ORF 1b) which code for 16 non structural proteins, and at the 3’ end the genes which code for four structural proteins including membrane (M), envelope (E), spike (S), and nucleocapsid (N) proteins. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, a reliable detection method is needed for patient diagnosis especially in the early stages of the disease. WHO has recommended nucleic acid amplification tests such as real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The assay detects three SARS-CoV-2 RNA targets: the envelope (E) gene, the nucleocapsid (N) gene and a region of the open reading frame (ORF1) of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene from SARS-CoV-2 virus isolate Wuhan-Hu-1. Our study was made in the first 3 months of the year 2021 using the real-time RT PCR results obtained in the Cellular Biology ward of the University Emergency Clinical Hospital. In our lab we are testing the inpatients from the hospital wards (Neurology, Pediatrics, Surgery, Internal medicine, ICU, Cardiology, etc.); we are also testing the outpatients from Dialysis and Oncology, 2 days prior to their therapy; we also test the health care personnel. The number of tests we performed was: in January 1456, with 399 positive results (27.4%), 33 deaths; in February 1273 tests, 221 positive (17.36%), 16 deaths; in March 1471 tests, 373 positive (25.36%), 37 deceased.