• Kaijin Xu, Yanfei Chen, Jing Yuan, Ping Yi, Cheng Ding, Wenrui Wu, Yongtao Li, Qin Ni, Rongrong Zou, Xiaohe Li, Min Xu, Ying Zhang, Hong Zhao, Xuan Zhang, Liang Yu, Junwei Su, Guanjing Lang, Jun Liu, Xiaoxin Wu, Yongzheng Guo, Jingjing Tao, Ding Shi, Ling Yu, Qing Cao, Bing Ruan, Lei Liu, Zhaoqin Wang, Yan Xu, Yingxia Liu, Jifang Sheng, and Lanjuan Li.
• State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou City, China.
• Clin. Infect. Dis. 2020 Jul 28; 71 (15): 799-806.

BackgroundAn outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is becoming a public health emergency. Data are limited on the duration and host factors related to viral shedding.MethodsIn this retrospective study, risk factors associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA shedding were evaluated in a cohort of 113 symptomatic patients from 2 hospitals outside Wuhan.ResultsThe median (interquartile range) duration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection was 17 (13-22) days as measured from illness onset. When comparing patients with early (<15 days) and late (≥15 days after illness onset) viral RNA clearance, prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding was associated with male sex (P = .009), old age (P = .033), concomitant hypertension (P = .009), delayed admission to hospital after illness onset (P = .001), severe illness at admission (P = .049), invasive mechanical ventilation (P = .006), and corticosteroid treatment (P = .025). Patients with longer SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding duration had slower recovery of body temperature (P < .001) and focal absorption on radiograph images (P < .001) than patients with early SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance. Male sex (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.31-8.02), delayed hospital admission (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.10-1.54), and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR, 9.88; 95% CI, 1.11-88.02) were independent risk factors for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding.ConclusionsMale sex, delayed admission to hospital after illness onset, and invasive mechanical ventilation were associated with prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding. Hospital admission and general treatments should be started as soon as possible in symptomatic COVID-19 patients, especially male patients.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

38 keywords...

hide…