Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019
ABSTRACT To determine the relationship between viral kinetics and severity of disease in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we investigated the viral kinetics and compared the viral loads of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; the disease caused by...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Microbiology Spectrum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/Spectrum.00793-21 |
| _version_ | 1828145863208206336 |
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| author | Da Young Kim Eun Kyung Bae Jun-Won Seo Na Ra Yun Choon-Mee Kim Dong-Min Kim |
| author_facet | Da Young Kim Eun Kyung Bae Jun-Won Seo Na Ra Yun Choon-Mee Kim Dong-Min Kim |
| author_sort | Da Young Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT To determine the relationship between viral kinetics and severity of disease in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we investigated the viral kinetics and compared the viral loads of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2), stratified by symptoms and severity. We determined the viral kinetics of 100 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at Chosun University Hospital between February 2020 and May 2021 and analyzed the differences between asymptomatic, symptomatic, and nonsurvivor patients and between patients who died and those who survived. Clinical samples, comprising respiratory specimens (sputum samples and nasopharynx and oropharynx swab samples), were obtained at different time points of hospitalization, at 1, 3 to 5, 7, 10, 14, and 30 days. SARS-CoV-2 was detected using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). All three groups, asymptomatic, symptomatic, and deceased patients, had higher numbers of viral copies at symptom onset, and the asymptomatic group had lower numbers of viral copies than the symptomatic or nonsurvivor group. Viral RNA release was detected until 30 days after symptom onset. The virus cleared up earlier in asymptomatic patients than in symptomatic and nonsurvivor patients, and it cleared up earlier in mildly affected patients than in severely affected patients. The cycle threshold values tended to be significantly lower in the group receiving steroids than in the nonsteroid group, even in the low-risk group with a pneumonia severity index of less than 90. The viral loads in patients with COVID-19 were significantly different according to disease severity and steroid use. IMPORTANCE In our study, we analyzed the viral kinetics of COVID-19 patients. Our study reveals differences in viral shedding according to the severity of disease in COVID-19 patients. Viral shedding had a longer duration in severely affected patients, and the cyclic threshold values were lower in the group receiving steroids. This study is expected to be helpful in analyzing the trend of the disease course according to steroid use and severity of SARS-CoV-2 disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:38:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-454589d896814fdf97c27e310ce6e59b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2165-0497 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:38:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbiology Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-454589d896814fdf97c27e310ce6e59b2022-12-22T04:04:16ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972021-10-019210.1128/Spectrum.00793-21Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019Da Young Kim0Eun Kyung Bae1Jun-Won Seo2Na Ra Yun3Choon-Mee Kim4Dong-Min Kim5Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Premedical Science, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaABSTRACT To determine the relationship between viral kinetics and severity of disease in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we investigated the viral kinetics and compared the viral loads of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2), stratified by symptoms and severity. We determined the viral kinetics of 100 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at Chosun University Hospital between February 2020 and May 2021 and analyzed the differences between asymptomatic, symptomatic, and nonsurvivor patients and between patients who died and those who survived. Clinical samples, comprising respiratory specimens (sputum samples and nasopharynx and oropharynx swab samples), were obtained at different time points of hospitalization, at 1, 3 to 5, 7, 10, 14, and 30 days. SARS-CoV-2 was detected using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). All three groups, asymptomatic, symptomatic, and deceased patients, had higher numbers of viral copies at symptom onset, and the asymptomatic group had lower numbers of viral copies than the symptomatic or nonsurvivor group. Viral RNA release was detected until 30 days after symptom onset. The virus cleared up earlier in asymptomatic patients than in symptomatic and nonsurvivor patients, and it cleared up earlier in mildly affected patients than in severely affected patients. The cycle threshold values tended to be significantly lower in the group receiving steroids than in the nonsteroid group, even in the low-risk group with a pneumonia severity index of less than 90. The viral loads in patients with COVID-19 were significantly different according to disease severity and steroid use. IMPORTANCE In our study, we analyzed the viral kinetics of COVID-19 patients. Our study reveals differences in viral shedding according to the severity of disease in COVID-19 patients. Viral shedding had a longer duration in severely affected patients, and the cyclic threshold values were lower in the group receiving steroids. This study is expected to be helpful in analyzing the trend of the disease course according to steroid use and severity of SARS-CoV-2 disease.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/Spectrum.00793-21COVID-19SARS-CoV-2viral kinetics |
| spellingShingle | Da Young Kim Eun Kyung Bae Jun-Won Seo Na Ra Yun Choon-Mee Kim Dong-Min Kim Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Microbiology Spectrum COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 viral kinetics |
| title | Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 |
| title_full | Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 |
| title_fullStr | Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 |
| title_short | Viral Kinetics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 |
| title_sort | viral kinetics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 viral kinetics |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/Spectrum.00793-21 |
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