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01-10-2021 | COVID-19 | IM - COMMENTARY

What is the role of bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of COVID-19?

Authors: Bernadette Corica, Giovanni Talerico, Giulio Francesco Romiti

Published in: Internal and Emergency Medicine | Issue 7/2021

Excerpt

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection has represented one of the most significant areas of uncertainty. The need for prompt isolation and tracking of suspected cases led to extensive use of the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) performed on nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS), which was proposed and adopted immediately as the cornerstone in the diagnosis of COVID-19 [1]. However, poor knowledge of the chances of false-negative and false-positive results [2], and misleading evaluation of post-test probability [3], often resulted in doubts and uncertainties in the diagnostic work-up of suspected COVID-19 infection—especially in those patients who had very low or very high pre-test probability of the disease. …

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Title: What is the role of bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of COVID-19?
Authors: Bernadette Corica
Giovanni Talerico
Giulio Francesco Romiti
Publication date: 01-10-2021
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Keyword: COVID-19
Published in: Internal and Emergency Medicine / Issue 7/2021
Print ISSN: 1828-0447
Electronic ISSN: 1970-9366
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-021-02758-0

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