ABSTRACT
Some patients retested positive for SARS-CoV-2 following negative testing results and discharge. However, the potential risk factors associated with redetectable positive test results in a large sample of patients who recovered from COVID-19 have not been well estimated. A total of 745 discharged COVID-19 patients were enrolled between January 30, 2020, and September 9, 2020, in Guangzhou, China. Data on the clinical characteristics, comorbidities, drug therapy, RT-PCR testing, and contact modes to close contacts were collected. Patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after discharge (positive retest patients) were confirmed by guidelines issued by China. The repositive rate in different settings was calculated. Among 745 discharged patients, 157 (21.1%; 95% CI, 18.2% to 24.0%) retested positive, of which 55 (35.0%) were asymptomatic, 15 (9.6%) had mild symptoms, 83 (52.9%) had moderate symptoms and 4 (2.6%) had severe symptoms at the first admission. The median time from discharge to repositivity was 8.0 days (IQR, 8.0 to 14.0 days). Most positive retest patients were without clinical symptoms, and lymphocyte cell counts were higher than before being discharged. The likelihood of repositive testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA was significantly higher among patients who were younger age (OR, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.74 to 8.66, 0 to 17 years old), had asymptomatic severity (OR, 4.36; 95% CI, 1.47 to 12.95) and did not have clinical symptoms (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.70, without fever). We found that the positive retest rate of COVID-19 was relatively high, and these patients tested positive again with a median of 8.0 to 14.0 days after discharge. Positive retest results were mainly observed in young patients without severe clinical symptoms. These findings suggest that a significant proportion of patients could carry viral fragments for a long time, and effective management, such as a prolonged quarantine phase for discharged patients, is necessary.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , FeverABSTRACT
Background: This study aimed to explore college students’ attitudes and compliance toward the prevention strategy of using non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in containing coronavirus disease 2019. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in four universities in Guangdong Province (China) based on purposive sampling. We used a self-made questionnaire to measure the supportive attitude towards outbreak control strategy and adoption of NPIs in respondents. Results: A total of 44,446 college students participated between 31 January and 10 February 2020; 92.7% of respondents supported the outbreak control strategy. 94.8% would avoid public places, 92.8% would wear a facemask, 91.2% would avoid of gatherings and 86.9% would wash hands more frequent. 76.5% respondents adopted all four measures. Supportive attitude was associated with NPI adoption. Students who were female, postgraduate, anxious, and not depressed tended to have higher supportive attitude and higher NPI adoption rate. Conclusions: Higher supportiveness towards the disease control strategy for public may lead to higher adoption rate of NPIs for individuals. Psychosocial factors are related to supportive attitude and adoption of the NPIs. We believe that our findings are instructive about the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19.