Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Hospitalized Patients

The rapid and accurate detection of infectious people is crucial in controlling outbreaks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of the viral load expressed as Ct in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected for RT-PCR testing. Forty-one subjects were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pathogens (Basel) 2024-05, Vol.13 (5), p.429
Main Authors: Panico, Alessandra, Bagordo, Francesco, Nolasco, Emanuela, Grassi, Tiziana, Bianco, Annagrazia, Indino, Floriano, Taurino, Federica, De Donno, Antonella, Lobreglio, Giambattista
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell culture
COVID-19
cycle threshold
Disease
Fever
Forecasts and trends
Health aspects
Hospital patients
Hospitalization
Hospitals
Kinetics
Measurement
Medical research
Pandemics
Patients
Pneumonia
Public health
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Software
Viral diseases
viral load
Viremia
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Summary:The rapid and accurate detection of infectious people is crucial in controlling outbreaks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of the viral load expressed as Ct in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected for RT-PCR testing. Forty-one subjects were recruited, of which 48.8% developed severe symptoms and 51.2% showed milder symptoms. The distribution of Ct values measured from the symptom onset showed that the kinetics of the viral load decreased with increasing time. A Ct of 25 (high viral load) was reached after a mean of 9.9 ± 4.8 days from the symptom onset, without a significant difference between patients with severe (10.9 ± 5.7 days) and milder (9.0 ± 3.9 days) symptoms. In 65.8% of cases, a high viral load was maintained for more than 7 days from the symptom onset, especially in patients with severe symptoms (70.6%). A Ct of 30 (moderate viral load) and of 38 (low viral load) were reached after a mean of 16.1 ± 8.1 and 28.5 ± 22.4 days from the symptom onset, respectively, with a significant difference between patients with severe (Ct = 30:17.9 ± 9.8 days; Ct = 38:34.6 ± 29.6 days) and milder (Ct = 30:14.3 ± 5.8 days; Ct = 38:22.7 ± 9.9 days) symptoms. These results provide an understanding of the viral kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 and have implications for pandemic control strategies and practices.
ISSN:2076-0817
2076-0817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens13050429