Recurrence of positive SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in recovered COVID-19 patients during medical isolation observation

Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 17;10(1):11887. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68782-w.

Abstract

Recently, the recurrence of positive SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in recovered COVID-19 patients is receiving more attention. Herein we report a cohort study on the follow-up of 182 recovered patients under medical isolation observation. Twenty (10.99%) patients out of the 182 were detected to be SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive (re-positives), although none showed any clinical symptomatic recurrence, indicating that COVID-19 responds well to treatment. Patients aged under 18 years had higher re-positive rates than average, and none of the severely ill patients re-tested positive. There were no significant differences in sex between re-positives and non-re-positives. Notably, most of the re-positives turned negative in the following tests, and all of them carried antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. This indicates that they might not be infectious, although it is still important to perform regular SARS-CoV-2 RNA testing and follow-up for assessment of infectivity. The findings of this study provide information for improving the management of recovered patients, and for differentiating the follow-up of recovered patients with different risk levels.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • Betacoronavirus / genetics*
  • Betacoronavirus / immunology
  • Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification
  • COVID-19
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Coronavirus Infections / genetics
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / genetics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / pathology*
  • RNA, Viral / metabolism*
  • Recurrence
  • Risk
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • RNA, Viral