LAUSR

Background:The outbreak of COVID -19 which started in late 2019 has rapidly reached a pandemic status all over the world. India being one of the most affected countries has borne the brunt of this infection. Though Viral RNA detection by RT- PCR is considered the gold standard for confirming the infection, yet false-negative RT- PCR rates are noted at about 15 %. We know the role of biomarkers and their significance in SARS – COV 2 infection. The utility of biomarkers in RT-PCR negative patients is studied here Methods:The study was conducted in the Microbiology department, Central Diagnostic Laboratory at Kurnool Govern- ment Medical College. We retrospectively analyzed biomarkers of 100 clinically suspected COVID 19 patients with sig- nificant changes in chest CT (CORADS score 4 or 5) who had undergone RT- PCR test from JULY to October 2020. Out of 100 patients, 50 were RT- PCR positive and 50 were RT-PCR negative. The RT- PCR analysis was performed by using the Biorad CFX96 machine and Allplex™ 2019-nCoV Assay kits. The Biomarkers CRP, D- Dimer, and LDH were analyzed by clinical chemistry analyzer, Pentra C 200 Results:Among 50 RT- PCR positive patients, 43 (86%) showed an increase in CRP, 46 (92%) showed an increase in D- Dimer, and 47 (94%) showed an increase in LDH. Out of 50 RT-PCR negative patients, 32(64%) showed an increase in CRP, 42 (84%) in D- Dimer, and 45(90%) in LDH. Conclusions:This study demonstrates that biological markers not only aid in identifying RT- PCR negative cases but also play an equally important role like other diagnostic COVID -19 tests in identifying and cautioning the doctor of the im- pending severity of the disease