New NLR parameter to battle COVID-19 is available now!
The newly emerged coronavirus is affecting all us now and we hope that you and your families are safe and will stay safe throughout the pandemic. Norma is dedicated to contribute and help to this still growing and sadly, worsening virus outbreak that is threatening many of our lives all around the world. For this reason, our R&D Team have introduced a new parameter in our Icon-5 and Icon-5 OP analyzers, the NLR, which is short for Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio.
Based on multiple evaluations*, NLR was found to be the most significant factor affecting the severe illness incidence of patients who were diagnosed positive for COVID-19. These studies concluded that the age of the patient and the NLR value can be an early indication on the severity progress of the disease. This is important because it can provide a foresight to doctors who can make early estimations and preparations for the course and treatment of their patient, thus helping them to focus on the more severe cases or cases that will turn severe in the upcoming days.
It is important to note that:
- the NLR value alone is not sufficient for coronavirus screening;
- the NLR parameter alone is not capable of indicating the current status or future course of the disease of healthy or asymptomatic virus infected individuals;
- the NRL parameter alone cannot be used to give diagnosis and/or treatment and cannot by itself provide a basis for assessing or deciding on a patient’s condition.
Norma’s Point-of-Care hematology analyzers with the new NLR parameter can be an excellent tool to help doctors at the front line of the epidemic:
- CBC results can be obtained at site, thus helping them with quicker diagnosis;
- Quicker diagnosis reduces referral time, thus helping patients to receive treatment faster;
- Faster treatment leads to faster emission or transfer time, thus helping to provide a more efficient patient care.
The new NLR software is available on our website’s internal support section.
If you are interested in the new NLR parameter or our analyzers in general, please contact area sales managers for more information:
http://normadiagnostika.com/contact-us.
*References:
- Neutorphil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Severe Illness Patients with 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the Early Stage, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.10.20021584
- Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study, DOI: https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)30211-7.pdf
- Longitudinal characteristics of lymphocyte responses and cytokine profiles in the peripheral blood of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients: https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/ebiom/PIIS2352-3964(20)30138-9.pdf