Prevalence and outcomes of re-positive nucleic acid tests in discharged COVID-19 patients.
Hou-Wei DuJun-Nian ChenXiao-Bin PanXiao-Ling Chennull Yixian-ZhangShuang-Fang FangXiao-Qing LiPin-Cang XiaLei GaoHai-Long LinLi-Min ChenNan Liunull nullPublished in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology (2020)
The prevalence and outcomes of patients who had re-activation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after discharge remain poorly understood. We included 126 consecutively confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2-month follow-up data after discharge in this retrospective study. The upper respiratory specimen using a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test of three patients (71 years [60-76]) were positive within 11-20 days after their discharge, with an event rate of 19.8 (95%CI 2.60-42.1) per 1,000,000 patient-days. Moreover, all re-positive patients were asymptomatic. Our findings suggest that few recovered patients may still be virus carriers even after reaching the discharge criteria.