Recommendations for Minimal Laboratory Testing Panels in Patients with COVID-19: Potential for Prognostic Monitoring
Emmanuel J. Favaloro, Giuseppe Lippi
Abstract
A new infective outbreak, which has been finally defined as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has now taken hold all around the world.[1] Although this is recognized as a viral respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathophysiology of the disease is far wider than respiratory, including long-term risk for adverse cardiovascular disease, thromboembolic disorders, and multiple organ failure (MOF).[2] The initial clinical course of the respiratory disease can be complicated by the development of interstitial pneumonia in a considerable number of patients, evolving toward acute respiratory distress syndrome in up to 10 to 15% of these, who will then require mechanical ventilation or intensive care.[3] Increasingly recognized, however, is the potential for the development of some forms of thrombotic coagulopathies including intravascular disseminated coagulation (DIC) in a subset of patients and indeed also being prognostic for poor morbidity and mortality.[4] [5]