Twitter Chat:Diagnosing COVID-19: What Pathologists Need to Know Now

The novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV or COVID-19, is rooted in Wuhan, China but has since arrived in the United States and spread internationally, stoking fears of a global pandemic. Join this Twitter Chat (#capchat) on March 10 at 9pm EST to discuss what pathologists need to know about their role in diagnosis and treating patients suspected to have contracted this virus.

• Host: Ziad El-Zaatari, MD, tweeting from CAP Twitter handle (@Pathologists)
• Guests: Bobbi Pritt, MD, FCAP (@ParasiteGal); Michael Mina, MD, PhD (@michaelmina_lab); CAP’s Advocacy office (@capdcadvocacy) will be participating to address any regulatory issues.

1. What is the current state of laboratory testing for Novel Corona Virus?
2. What is the most likely test (molecular, serological, culture)?
3. How should pathologists respond when they receive calls from patients and PCPs wondering about how to get tested, particularly from worried patients who are otherwise well, despite not having a definite risk factor?
4. What are some ways the laboratory can handle the panic and concerns that patients and clinicians convey to us?
5. How can we help our clinical colleagues in this emerging situation?
6. Are there special precautions laboratory personnel should follow during this coronavirus crisis, for example, in handling, blood specimen, respiratory specimen, and tissue?
7. Many labs may have an in-house rapid respiratory pathogen PCR panel that detects coronavirus, but not the novel strain. What testing protocol should be implemented in this situation?
8. Can we learn from prior viral diseases, such as Ebola, SARS, MERS, H1N1?

• CDC: Coronavirus 2019

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