Should We Rely on Screening Tests for Further Management Alone in Polymerase Chain Reaction Negative COVID-19 Patients? A Case Series

Phool Iqbal; Fateen Ata; Samman Rose; Hammad S Chaudhry; Ali Rahil

doi:10.7759/cureus.10555

Should We Rely on Screening Tests for Further Management Alone in Polymerase Chain Reaction Negative COVID-19 Patients? A Case Series

Cureus. 2020 Sep 20;12(9):e10555. doi: 10.7759/cureus.10555.

Authors

Phool Iqbal¹, Fateen Ata², Samman Rose², Hammad S Chaudhry², Ali Rahil²

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, QAT.
² Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, QAT.

Abstract

Since the declaration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), it has been a challenge to the whole medical community. Researchers and clinicians have been trying to explain and explore its mechanism and pathophysiology to get a better understanding of this disease, as it has exhausted the healthcare resources and has impacted human life in general. Many tests have been developed including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the virus and rapid diagnostic testing in patients based on IgM/IgG serology. But owing to variable sensitivity and specificity of these tests, it has created a challenging situation to proceed with the further management plan. We are reporting a case series where we experienced the dilemma of diagnosing COVID-9 disease in our patients and further plan of care.

Keywords: corona virus disease 2019; covid 19; real time-pcr; sars-cov-2; sars-cov-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2); serology.

Publication types

Case Reports