Clinical Urine Tests May Predict Covid - 19 Progress
NHK has learned that a group of researchers in Japan will conduct a clinical study using urine samples from COVID-19 patients to predict whether their conditions will become serious.
Researchers at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine will collect urine samples from about 500 patients who are at hospitals or in quarantine at accommodations. They will then examine the amount of a protein called L-FABP contained in those samples.
The researchers say their recent studies have shown that when the level of L-FABP is higher than normal, the risk of symptoms worsening is more than eight times higher.
The patients will use test kits to conduct the urine tests by themselves, soon after they have been admitted to hospitals or put into quarantine. They will then use their smartphones to send photos of their test kits to the center. Medical doctors will make a determination about the test results.
The researchers say they will call for cooperation from local governments and medical institutions, as their aim is to start the clinical study this month.
Katagiri Daisuke is a doctor at the center. He says he believes that patients will be able to be hospitalized more smoothly when necessary, if the urine tests are put into practical use.