الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease is a unique disease that was initially identified in late 2019 in Wuhan, Wubei, China, and spread fast over the world within six months. COVID-19 disease has expanded fast since its discovery, affecting approximately 4 million individuals globally. The current detection of corona virus relies on reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), yet it is time consuming, expensive, and less accurate. The aim of the present study was to apply the E-Nose technology for confirming the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients by measuring odors of volatile organic compounds in their biological fluids as compared to standard diagnostic methods. The average Monocyte and Lymphocyte Counts (%) were significantly lower (p < 0.001), but the Neutrophil Cell Counts were significantly higher (p < 0.001), for COVID-19 patients in comparison with Healthy Controls. The E-Nose technology was used in this study to measure the qualitative odour differences of blood, Sputum, and urine samples from confirmed patients with COVID-19 and Healthy Controls. The cluster plot of E-Nose sensor response showed a clear distinction between COVID-19 patients and Healthy Controls for blood, sputim, and urine samples with a total variance of 99.53%, 92.88%, and 90.43%, respectively. Thus, the E-Nose technology, made clinically available, could provide useful real-time analysis for medical decision making in patients with suspected COVID-19. This study showed that the E-Nose technology could be used as the first point of care screening test for COVID-19 patients. The E-Nose is a unique and revolutionary technology for detecting COVID-19 infection that is quick and does not require highly expert operators and have the potential to become a diagnostic tool for identifying COVID-19 patients with high precision. 5.2. Conclusions The portable PEN3 (Airsense Analytics GmbH, Schwerin, Germany) with an array of 10 different metal-oxide sensors, which measure independently and register continuously relative changes in electrical conductance due to vapor or odor differences of sputum, blood, and urine samples during an experiment, enables a proactive screening search for COVID-19 patients without the need for highly skilled operators, enables proactive screening search for COVID-19 patients without the need for highly skilled operators. Thus, the E-Nose technology, made clinically available, could provide useful real-time analysis for medical decision making in patients with suspected COVID-19. The E-Nose has several advantages, including quick measurement (60 seconds per sample), ease of use (no sampling treatment), and a high-safe method (all samples were taken in vacuum sterile tubes and plastic disposable sterile containers and sacs). We believe that using a sophisticated self-learning Principle Component Analysis software package for the classification and discrimination of all participants, as well as the analysis of output results and diagnosis, the E-Nose represents a significant technique for the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. |