Section 3.2: Diagnostic criteria (from DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1735265)
From publication: "Diagnosis and clinical management of severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection: an operational recommendation of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (V2.0)" in the journal Emerg Microbes Infect (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2020.1735265
Section 3.2: Diagnostic criteria
Supportive epidemiological history
Clinical manifestation: Fever; normal or low levels of white blood cells or decreased lymphocyte counts at onset. Chest radiology at early stage is characteristic of multiple small patchy shadows and interstitial changes, more prominent in the extrapulmonary bands. Multiple ground-glass opacities and infiltrations may develop bilaterally with disease progression, with possible consolidation in severe cases.
Diagnosis: SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid positive in samples of sputum, pharynx swabs, and secretions of lower respiratory tract tested by real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay.
For patients with acute fever (>37.5 C within 72 hours) and normal chest imaging, if the absolute count of peripheral lymphocytes is less than 0.8 x 109/L, or the count of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells decreases significantly, isolation and close observation should be conducted at home even if the first SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test is negative. Repeat of rRT-PCR should be considered after 24 h, and a chest CT scan should be performed when necessary.
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