Pathophysiology, Transmission, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a sudden significant increase in hospitalizations for pneumonia with multiorgan disease. COVID-19 is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 infection may be asymptomatic or it may cause a wide spectrum of symptoms, such as mild symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and life-threatening sepsis. COVID-19 first emerged in December 2019, when a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was recognized in Wuhan, China. As of July 1, 2020, SARS-CoV-2 has affected more than 200 countries, resulting in more than 10 million identified cases with 508 000 confirmed deaths (Figure 1). This review summarizes current evidence regarding pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and management of COVID-19.