• Deborah A Theodore, William G Greendyke, Benjamin Miko, Susan Whittier, Daniel A Green, Sherif Shoucri, Elizabeth C Verna, Jason Zucker, Magdalena E Sobieszczyk, Justin G Aaron, Brian E Scully, Lisa Saiman, Marcus Pereira, and E Yoko Furuya.
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY.
• Transplantation. 2021 Jul 1; 105 (7): 1445-1448.

BackgroundThe optimal duration of transmission-based precautions among immunocompromised patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unknown.MethodsRetrospective review of patients with solid organ transplant with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction result from nasopharyngeal specimens admitted to the hospital between March 13, 2020 and May 15, 2020.ResultsTwenty-one percent of solid organ transplant recipients with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction detected ≥20 d after symptom onset (or after first positive test among asymptomatic individuals) had a low cycle threshold (ie, high viral load). The majority of these patients were asymptomatic or symptomatically improved.ConclusionsSolid organ transplant recipients may have prolonged high viral burden of SARS-CoV-2. Further data are needed to understand whether cycle threshold data can help inform strategies for prevention of healthcare-associated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and for appropriate discontinuation of transmission-based precautions.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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