Contagion Live News Network: Testing for Severe COVID-19

Segment Description: A brief on the latest infectious disease headlines.

Relevant Coverage: FDA Authorizes IL-6 Test for Early Detection of Severe COVID-19 Illness

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the Elecsys IL-6 test, according to Roche. The test can be used on Roche’s “cobas e” analysers.

The test measures levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) to identify patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at high risk of intubation.

“The test can support physicians, in combination with other examinations and vital signs, to decide early on if a patient with confirmed COVID-19 illness requires mechanical ventilation,” Roche indicated in a press release.

The company noted that test results from this particular diagnostic take approximately 18 minutes, with a potential output of up to 300 tests per hour.