COVID-19 infection with asymptomatic or mild disease severity in young patients: Clinical course and association between prevalence of pneumonia and viral load

• Published in: PloS one 2021-04, Vol.16 (4), p.e0250358-e0250358
• Main Authors: Kim, Cherry, Kim, Wooil, Jeon, Ji Hoon, Seok, Hyeri, Kim, Sun Bean, Choi, Hee Kyoung, Yoon, Young Kyung, Song, Joon Young, Park, Dae Won, Sohn, Jang Wook, Choi, Won Suk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Asymptomatic; Asymptomatic Diseases - epidemiology; Bacterial pneumonia; Biology and Life Sciences; Children; Computed tomography; Computer programs; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - metabolism; Data analysis; Development and progression; Drafting software; Dyspnea; Editing; Female; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Internal medicine; Male; Medical imaging; Medical schools; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methodology; Oxygen; Oxygen therapy; Patients; Physical Sciences; Pneumonia; Pneumonia - epidemiology; Prevalence; Public health; Quarantine; Radiology; Republic of Korea; Respiration; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Serologic Tests; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Severity of Illness Index; Software; Tachypnea; Viral diseases; Viral Load - methods; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250358

Few studies have focused on clinical courses or viral loads in young asymptomatic or mild patients with COVID-19 infection. We sought to better understand the clinical course and association between viral load and prevalence of pneumonia in young COVID-19 patients with asymptomatic or mild disease severity. In this retrospective study, 106 COVID-19 young patients with asymptomatic or mild disease severity were analyzed for clinical characteristics, clinical course, prevalence of radiologically proven pneumonia and viral load. The cut-off value of viral load for presence of pneumonia was also investigated. The mean age was 28.0±9.3 years. Eleven patients (10.4%) experienced viral remission within one week of diagnosis, but one (0.9%) transferred to the hospital due to aggravation of pneumonia. Patients with pneumonia had significantly higher viral load than those without, and the cut-off value of the Ct value for presence of pneumonia were 31.38. The patients with pneumonia had significantly slower recovery times than those without. Diarrhea was significantly more common in patients with pneumonia than patients without pneumonia. In conclusion, most young asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients showed stable clinical course. There were significant differences in viral load and recovery times between patients with and without pneumonia.