We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App





Blood Biomarker Test Rapidly Identifies COVID-19 Patients Likely to Develop Severe Infection and Require Ventilator

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 16 Feb 2021
A new blood biomarker test rapidly detects the severity of COVID-19 infections when a person with flu-like symptoms first presents to a clinic and allows clinicians to know at onset of symptoms if the patient will need ventilation.

The blood biomarker test developed by scientists at Queensland University of Technology (QUT; Brisbane, Australia) could inform doctors those patients that were likely to develop a severe infection and require a ventilator when they first present and thus differentiate them from patients likely to experience a milder case and who could go home and self-isolate.

“Using high-resolution imaging and genomic profiling, we were able to map the presence of the virus in the lungs down to the single cells present in the lung tissue,” said Dr. More...
Arutha Kulasinghe, from QUT Centre for Genomics and Personalized Health and School of Biomedical Sciences. “We discovered a handful of pro-inflammatory genes which were upregulated (higher expression) in COVID-19 cases when compared with the closest pandemic virus, swine flu or H1N1, and the lungs of healthy people.”

“The pro-inflammatory genes, including one called ifi27, are involved in type 1 interferon response - an inflammatory response to defend the body from viruses and other pathogens,” explained Dr. Kulasinghe. “The value of measuring this biomarker, ifi27, in a nasal swab or blood sample is in triaging patients because it can tell us how severe the COVID-19 disease is as soon as the patient seeks medical help with COVID symptoms.”

Related Links:
Queensland University of Technology


Gold Member
SARS-CoV-2 Reactive & Non-Reactive Controls
Qnostics SARS-CoV-2 Typing
Portable Electronic Pipette
Mini 96
New
Urine Chemistry Control
Dropper Urine Chemistry Control
New
Automated MALDI-TOF MS System
EXS 3000
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The nanotechnology-based liquid biopsy test could identify cancer at its early stages (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

2-Hour Cancer Blood Test to Transform Tumor Detection

Glioblastoma and other aggressive cancers remain difficult to control largely because tumors can recur after treatment. Current diagnostic methods, such as invasive biopsies or expensive liquid biopsies,... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: An adult fibrosarcoma case report has shown the importance of early diagnosis and targeted therapy (Photo courtesy of Sultana and Sailaja/Oncoscience)

Accurate Pathological Analysis Improves Treatment Outcomes for Adult Fibrosarcoma

Adult fibrosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy that develops in connective tissue and often affects the limbs, trunk, or head and neck region. Diagnosis is complex because tumors can mimic... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Conceptual design of the CORAL capsule for microbial sampling in the small intestine (H. Mohammed et al., Device (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904)

Coral-Inspired Capsule Samples Hidden Bacteria from Small Intestine

The gut microbiome has been linked to conditions ranging from immune disorders to mental health, yet conventional stool tests often fail to capture bacterial populations in the small intestine.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.