The N gene of SARS-CoV-2 was the main positive component in repositive samples from a cohort of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China.
Clin Chim Acta
; 511: 291-297, 2020 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1023490
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Repositivity of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in discharged COVID-19 patients was reported recently. However, the characteristics of repositive results are still not well understood, leading to a lack of effective monitoring strategies.METHODS:
In the present study, a total of 59 COVID-19 patients were enrolled, and the characteristics of the repositive samples were analyzed.RESULTS:
The repositive rate in this cohort was 15.79%. The N gene was the main target gene that was positive in the repositive results as well as in the last positive results of all patients. The median duration from diagnosis to the last positive test was 20 days (IQR, 16-31 days), and the longest duration was 40 days. Repositivity was only observed in IgM single- or both IgM- and IgG-positive patients, instead of IgG single-positive patients.CONCLUSIONS:
There was a significant proportion of repositives in the recovered COVID-19 patients, and increasing the required number of negatives for consecutive nucleic acid tests may reduce the incidence of repositives. The recommended monitoring strategy for repositivity is monitoring the N gene in IgM-positive patients. This can ensure high sensitivity while reducing the time and cost of nucleic acid detection.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Clin Chim Acta
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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