Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
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In the last decades, coronaviruses have been a major threat to public health worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 is the third known coronavirus that causes fatal respiratory diseases in humans. ⋯ Increasing scientific evidence has shown that abnormalities in routine laboratory tests, particularly hematological tests, have the potential to indicate, in a quick, practical and economical way, the need for specific laboratory tests for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, besides assisting in the prognosis of the disease and in the optimization of its clinical monitoring. In order to address in a simple and practical way the various aspects related to SARS-CoV-2 infection, this review reports the history of the virus, the epidemiology and pathophysiology of COVID-19, with emphasis on its laboratory diagnosis, particularly in hematological changes found during the course of the disease.
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The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is a public health emergency caused by a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 infection uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, and typically spreads through the respiratory tract. ⋯ Accumulating data points to an increased cardiovascular disease morbidity, and mortality in COVID-19 patients. This brief review explores potential available evidence regarding the association between COVID-19, and cardiovascular complications.