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Review
. 2020 Sep:37:100748.
doi: 10.1016/j.nmni.2020.100748. Epub 2020 Aug 20.

Re-positive coronavirus disease 2019 PCR test: could it be a reinfection?

A A Osman  1 , M M Al Daajani  2 , A J Alsahafi  3
Affiliations
Review

Re-positive coronavirus disease 2019 PCR test: could it be a reinfection?

A A Osman et al. New Microbes New Infect. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak started in December 2019 and rapidly spread around the globe as a major health threat. Several reports on re-positive cases subsequent to discharge from hospitals caught our attention. We aimed to highlight RT-qPCR positivity re-detection after discharge from isolation, with special consideration of the possible reasons behind it. We found that re-positive RT-qPCR assays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 after previous negative results might be attributed to false-negative laboratory results and prolonged viral shedding, rather than to re-infection. These findings are encouraging and should be validated in a larger cohort.

Keywords: CT scan; Coronavirus disease 2019; False-negative; Low viral load; RT-qPCR; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

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