Contrasting SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies and clinical symptoms in a large cohort of Colombian patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials

Nathalia Ballesteros¹  Juan David Ramírez¹  Laura Vega¹  David Martinez¹  Carolina Hernández¹  Paula Jimenez¹  Marina Muñoz¹  Marcela Gomez¹  Sergio Castañeda¹  Santiago A. Quiroga²  Carolina Flórez³  Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi⁴  Nathalia Sierra⁵  Claudia Cifuentes⁵ 

[1] Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia;Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia;Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia;Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, Colombia;Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas IDB/Incubadora Venezolana de la Ciencia, Barquisimeto, Venezuela;Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA;Laboratorio de Salud Pública, Dirección de Salud Pública, Secretaria de Salud de Cundinamarca, Bogotá, Colombia;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19;    RT-PCR;    Ct;    Clinical symptoms;    Comorbidities;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12941-021-00445-8

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThere is limited and controverting evidence looking at possible associations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA copies and patient variables in large cohorts of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.MethodsWe studied 2275 symptomatic and asymptomatic patients from Colombia with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and analyzed the associations between RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value with gender, age, comorbidities, symptomatology, and disease severity.Results15.4 % of the samples (n = 428) reported at least one comorbidity. There were 2011 symptomatic cases (72.4 %), being the most common reported symptom cough (57.2 %, n = 1586). Respiratory distress was present in 21.4 % of patients (n = 595), and 435 patients (15.6 %) required hospital admission. We observed that patients with no prior medical history harbored higher RNA copies than patients with comorbidities (p = 0.02). No significant differences in RNA copies were observed between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (p = 0.82). Strong correlations were detected between Ct values and the presence of odynophagia (p = 0.03), diarrhea (p = 0.04), and headache (p = 0.0008). An inverse association was found between RNA copy number and markers of disease severity, namely, respiratory distress (P < 0.0001) and hospitalization requirement (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsSARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR cycle thresholds reveal strong associations with a prior medical history, specific symptomatology, and disease severity markers. Further research controlling potential confounding variables needs to be conducted to evaluate the nature and usefulness of these associations in managing COVID-19 patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY