The COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge socio-economic losses and continues to threat humans worldwide. With more than 4.5 million deaths and more than 221 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, the impact on physical, mental, social and economic resources is immeasurable. During any novel disease outbreak, one of the primary requirements for effective mitigation is the knowledge of clinical manifestations of the disease. However, in absence of any unique identifying characteristics, diagnosis/prognosis becomes difficult. It intensifies misperception and leads to delay in containment of disease spread. Numerous clinical research studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses have generated considerable data on the same. However, identification of some of the distinct clinical signs and symptoms, disease progression biomarkers and the risk factors leading to adverse COVID-19 outcomes warrant in-depth understanding. In view of this, we assessed 20 systematic reviews and meta-analyses with an intent to understand some of the potential independent predictors/biomarkers/risk factors of COVID-19 severity and mortality.

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The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), a nightmare of this century, has become an ongoing global health emergency for the entire world. This dreadful disease is believed to have originated from China and has now spread worldwide. To date, more than 170 million people have been found affected by this virus, namely “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2” (SARS-CoV-2). With the exponential increase in the patients affected by the SARS-CoV-2, the need for testing has also increased tremendously. Early diagnosis is essential to prevent the extensive spread of the disease because of the faster rate of infection. In this regard, various diagnostic techniques are employed for the detection of the infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 individuals. To provide diagnostic care for the control of the disease, various tests like serological testing, nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), rapid antigen-based testing, and paper-based testing have been developed and are presently in good use. The present mini-review is an attempt to outline the currently available diagnostic kits for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19.