Clinical chemistry tests for patients with COVID-19 – important caveats for interpretation
Peter A. Kavsak, Kerstin de Wit, Andrew Worster
Abstract
To the Editor, The International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) has recently posted a list of laboratory tests for monitoring patients with COVID-19 (IFCC Information Guide on COVID-19; published Thursday, March 26: https://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-news/2020-03-26-ifcc-information-guide-on-covid-19/). Besides hematology (i.e. complete blood count) and coagulation (i.e. d-dimer and prothrombin time), the list also includes specific clinical chemistry tests for the biochemical monitoring of patients with COVID-19, which are supported by the initial clinical course of patients from Wuhan, China These tests have also been recently highlighted in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine [2] (Table Importantly, the original list omits blood gas panels as well as urea, with the latter needed for the CURB-65 community-acquired pneumonia severity score used in the emergency setting We have added these tests to the list and have provided important caveats for the interpretation of these tests as preanalytical, analytical and postanalytical issues can affect interpretation.