Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

November 13, 2020

Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 RNA Test Results Among Patients Who Recovered From COVID-19 With Prior Negative Results

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  • A prospective study of 176 Italians who had recovered from COVID-19 and previously tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA via RT-PCR (two negative tests 24 hours apart) found that 32 people (18%) re-tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (mean of 49 days since initial diagnosis), and one person (3%) was found to have replicative SARS-CoV-2 RNA. It was not possible to determine whether the 31 individuals who re-tested positive had recurrent infection or were reinfected. All but one patient in the study had positive antibody results against SARS-CoV-2 as well as 139 of the remaining 144 patients tested during follow-up. The patient who tested serologically negative was not the same patient that had a positive test result for replicative SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Liotti et al. (Nov 12, 2020). Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 RNA Test Results Among Patients Who Recovered From COVID-19 With Prior Negative Results. JAMA Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7570