4 Case Diagnosis

It is different between Hubei Province and other provinces.

Cases in other provinces except Hubei are still classified into “suspected cases” and “confirmed cases”. Based on the fact that confirmed cases with no definite epidemiological exposure history have been found, “Those without definite epidemiological exposure history but meeting the three clinical manifestations(fever and/or respiratory symptoms; having the imaging features of pneumonia mentioned above; in the early stage, a normal or decrease of total white blood cells count and a decrease of lymphocyte count can be found)”are also included in the investigation of suspected cases. The diagnostic criteria for confirmed cases remain unchanged.(A positive result of the nucleic acid of 2019-nCoV by real-time fluorescence RT-PCR in respiratory tract specimens or blood specimens, or the virus gene sequence of respiratory tract specimens or blood specimens is highly homologous to the known 2019-nCoV.)

A classification of “clinical diagnosis cases” was added in Hubei Province.Moreover, the standard of “suspected cases” is revised to, “Patients regardless of whether with an epidemiological history can be considered suspected cases as long as they satisfy the two clinical manifestations: ‘fever and/or respiratory symptoms’and ‘in the early stage, a normal or decrease of total white blood cells count and a decrease of lymphocyte count can be found’”. It means that the diagnostic criteria of suspected cases has been relaxed. Suspected cases with imaging features of pneumonia are clinically diagnosed cases. The diagnostic criteria for confirmed cases remain unchanged.