SARS-CoV-2 viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs in the emergency department does not predict COVID-19 severity and mortality.
Pierrick Le BorgneMorgane SolisFrançois SeveracHamid MerdjiYvon RuchKarine Alamé InternEric BayleYves HansmannPascal BilbaultSamira Fafi-KremerJeffrey A Klinenull nullPublished in: Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (2021)
Respiratory viral load measurement on the first nasopharyngeal swab (by RT-PCR) during initial ED management is neither a predictor of severity nor a predictor of mortality in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Host response to this viral infection along with the extent of preexisting comorbidities might be more foretelling of disease severity than the virus itself.