Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies showed that recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can have a subsequent positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after they are discharged from the hospital. Understanding the epidemiological characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients who have a re-positive test is vital for preventing a second wave of COVID-19.MethodsThis retrospective study analyzed the epidemiological and clinical features of 20,280 COVID-19 patients from multiple centers in Wuhan who had a positive PCR test between December 31, 2019, and August 4, 2020. The RT-PCR test results for 4079 individuals who had close contact with the re-positive cases were also obtained.ResultsIn total, 2466 (12.16%) of the 20,280 patients had a re-positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test after they were discharged from the hospital, and 4079 individuals had close contact with members of this patient group. All of these 4079 individuals had a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test.ConclusionsThis retrospective study in Wuhan analyzed the basic characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients with re-positive PCR test and found that these cases may not be infectious.
Highlights
Previous studies showed that recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can have a subsequent positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after they are discharged from the hospital
Term definition Re-positive cases: The individuals who recovered from previously confirmed COVID-19 diseases and had a positive test again
The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused more than 108 million cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) illness, and over 2.4 million people globally have died from this disease as of February 2021 [1]
Summary
Previous studies showed that recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can have a subsequent positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after they are discharged from the hospital. Understanding the epidemiological characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients who have a re-positive test is vital for preventing a second wave of COVID-19. Wu et al BMC Medicine (2021) 19:77 definition stated in [5] where re-positive cases are those who recovered from previously confirmed COVID-19 diseases and who went on to have a subsequent positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. Understanding the epidemiological characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients with a re-positive PCR test is vital for preventing a second wave of COVID-19
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