An integrated framework for identifying clinical-laboratory indicators for novel pandemics: COVID-19 and MIS-C.
retrospective_cohort · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35058541.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41746-021-00547-9 and PMC identifier 8776774.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
During the critical early stages of an emerging pandemic, limited availability of pathogen-specific testing can severely inhibit individualized risk screening and pandemic tracking. Standard clinical laboratory tests offer a widely available complementary data source for first-line risk screening and pandemic surveillance. Here, we propose an integrated framework for developing clinical-laboratory indicators for novel pandemics that combines population-level and individual-level analyses. We apply this framework to 7,520,834 clinical laboratory tests recorded over five years and find clinical-lab-test combinations that are strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) diagnoses: Interleukin-related tests (e.g. IL4, IL10) were most strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and MIS-C, while other more widely available tests (ferritin, D-dimer, fibrinogen, alanine transaminase, and C-reactive protein) also had strong associations. When novel pandemics emerge, this framework can be used to identify specific combinations of clinical laboratory tests for public health tracking and first-line individualized risk screening.