Application of digital health technologies in the diagnosis of Covid-۱۹: A systematic review

Background and Objective: Upon the emergence of COVID-۱۹, healthcare teams have been challenged by the inability to make a timely and precise diagnosis, which necessitates patients’ in-person visits to healthcare centers, increases the risk of virus transmission, and leads to the shortage of healthcare personnel for performing diagnostic tests. Thus, there is a need to develop a novel approach to COVID-۱۹ diagnosis which is more precise and rapid and can reduce the number of visits. Recently, mobile technologies have entered the healthcare domain and made advances in disease control, monitoring, and treatment. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the role of digital health in COVID-۱۹ diagnosis during the current pandemic.Search method: This systematic review was conducted from ۲۰۱۹ to ۲۰۲۰. The searches were performed in Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus by using keyword combinations, e.g., COVID-۱۹, diagnosis, detection and digital health. Two researchers independently examined the titles, abstracts, and full text of the articles, and the data were collected from the relevant articles.Findings: In total, ۱۲ articles were included, ۶۰% of which (n=۷) noted the use of telemedicine and mHealth for online consultations and distance communication with the doctor for early diagnosis before symptom emergence/exacerbation. These technologies differentiated the patients before the visit, and prioritized them for diagnostic tests. Moreover, ۴۰% of the articles (n=۵) emphasized the use of artificial intelligence in making a faster and more precise diagnosis, patient screening, CT performance improvement, and tracking current and future patients.Conclusion: Mobile technologies play a pivotal role in the early and precise diagnosis of COVID-۱۹ and can help control and manage the pandemic by limiting the number of visits and enabling diagnosis before symptom exacerbation.

کلیدواژه ها:

Digital health ، Diagnosis ، Detection ، Covid-۱۹