Utility of Routine Laboratory Biomarkers to Detect COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Jana Suklan,
James Cheaveau,
Sarah Hill,
Samuel G. Urwin,
Kile Green,
Amanda Winter,
Timothy Hicks,
Anna E. Boath,
Ashleigh Kernohan,
D. Ashley Price,
A. Joy Allen,
Eoin Moloney,
Sara Graziadio
Affiliations
Jana Suklan
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK
James Cheaveau
Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Victoria Infirmary, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, UK
Sarah Hill
Health Economics Group, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Samuel G. Urwin
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
Kile Green
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK
Amanda Winter
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
Timothy Hicks
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
Anna E. Boath
Health Economics Group, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Ashleigh Kernohan
Health Economics Group, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
D. Ashley Price
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK
A. Joy Allen
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK
Eoin Moloney
Health Economics Group, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
Sara Graziadio
NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, William Leech Building, Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
No routine laboratory biomarkers perform well enough in diagnosing COVID-19 in isolation for them to be used as a standalone diagnostic test or to help clinicians prioritize patients for treatment. Instead, other diagnostic tests are needed. The aim of this work was to statistically summarise routine laboratory biomarker measurements in COVID-19-positive and -negative patients to inform future work. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis were performed. The search included names of commonly used, routine laboratory tests in the UK NHS, and focused on research papers reporting laboratory results of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. A random effects meta-analysis of the standardized mean difference between COVID-19-positive and -negative groups was conducted for each biomarker. When comparing reported laboratory biomarker results, we identified decreased white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, eosinophil, and platelet counts; while lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase were elevated in COVID-19-positive compared to COVID-19-negative patients. Differences were identified across a number of routine laboratory biomarkers between COVID-19-positive and -negative patients. Further research is required to identify whether routine laboratory biomarkers can be used in the development of a clinical scoring system to aid with triage of patients.
