Cycle Threshold to Test Positivity in COVID-19 for Return to Work Clearance in Health Care Workers.
J Occup Environ Med
; 62(11): 889-891, 2020 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1024147
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To ascertain whether reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) cycle amplifications until detection, the cycle threshold (Ct), could help inform return to work (RTW) strategies for health care workers (HCWs) recovering from COVID-19 infection.METHODS:
Sequential Ct data from COVID-19 nasal pharyngeal (NP) RT-PCR testing in all COVID-19 positive HCWs at a single institution. Analysis of Ct in relation to time until negative testing for RTW clearance.RESULTS:
Data for 12 employees showed that time elapsed until RT-PCR test-based RTW clearance ranged from 7 to 57 days (median, 34.5 days). Lower initial Ct correlated with the total time elapsed until clearance (râ=â-0.80; Pâ=â0.002).CONCLUSION:
Considering the RT-PCR Ct, which correlates with the estimated viral load, may help inform RTW planning and decision making beyond solely relying on dichotomized positive/negative results.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Health Personnel
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Clinical Laboratory Techniques
/
Return to Work
/
Betacoronavirus
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
J Occup Environ Med
Journal subject:
Occupational Medicine
/
Environmental Health
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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