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Case Reports
. 2021 Mar:104:631-633.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.11.161. Epub 2020 Nov 20.

A case of extremely prolonged viral shedding: Could cell cultures be a diagnostic tool to drive COVID-19 patient discharge?

Davide Mileto  1 , Antonella Foschi  2 , Alessandro Mancon  3 , Stefania Merli  2 , Federica Staurenghi  3 , Laura Pezzati  2 , Alberto Rizzo  3 , Federico Conti  2 , Francesca Romeri  3 , Dario Bernacchia  2 , Rachele Meroni  4 , Giuliano Rizzardini  2 , Maria Rita Gismondo  3 , Valeria Micheli  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of extremely prolonged viral shedding: Could cell cultures be a diagnostic tool to drive COVID-19 patient discharge?

Davide Mileto et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

This study addressed the case of a patient with prolonged COVID-19 viral shedding, reported by Real-Time PCR, until 71 days from symptom onset. However, viral culture received negative results after 30 days from symptom onset. Therefore, viral culture may be a worthwhile test for patients requiring discharge, in particular for those presenting prolonged viral shedding.

Keywords: COVID-19; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; Serology; Viral culture.

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