Time to SARS-CoV-2 Clearance Among Patients with Cancer and COVID-19.
Wenxin XuAndrew J Piper-VallilloPoorva BindalJonathan WischhusenJaymin M PatelDaniel B CostaMary Linton B PetersPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2020)
In this single-institution retrospective cohort study, the median time to SARS-CoV-2 clearance was 50 days using the ASCO/CDC criteria of 2 negative RT-PCR assays >24 hours apart. Using alternative criteria of 1 negative RT-PCR assay (UK-NICE) or CDC clinical criteria (10 days after first positive RT-PCR and 3 days after last symptoms), median clearance times were 31 days and 13 days, respectively. Meaning: SARS-CoV-2 clearance times differ substantially depending on criteria used and may be prolonged in cancer patients.