Latest insights on the diagnostic approaches and treatment strategies of COVID-19

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has emerged as the most serious pandemic in the 21st century to date. COVID-19 patients may develop various disease symptoms that hinder the accurate clinical diagnosis. Summary: Routine diagnosis of COVID-19 requires complementary investigations, including computed tomography, immunological assays, and molecular assays like real-time RT-PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), metagenomic next-generation sequencing (NGS), and CRISPR-based assays. Clinically approved antiviral drugs available for the COVID-19 treatment are very limited. The most common measurements that enhance health condition and patients’ viability are conservation fluid management, oxygen therapy, and antibiotics. Several therapeutic options have been developed or repurposed to prevent virus replication and/or modulate the immune response against virus infection. These options include various drugs that affect virus entry and membrane fusion, inhibit polymerase and protease activity, suppress the host pro-inflammatory cytokines, and utilize cell therapy approaches. Key Messages: In this review, we aimed to provide an up-to-date discussion on the current diagnostic options and therapeutic strategies used to control and manage COVID-19 in clinical and point-of-care settings.