The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital/Guangdong academy of medical sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
J Infect. 2020 Aug;81(2):e49-e52. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.023. Epub 2020 Apr 23.
To investigate the widely concerned issue about positive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results after discharge in patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
We identified seven cases of COVID-19 who was readmitted to hospital because of positive RT-PCR after discharge, including three pediatrics and four young adult patients.
Six patients had positive rectal swabs but negative throat swabs, and one patient had positive throat swabs. All the patients continued to be asymptomatic and had unchanged chest computed tomography from previous images. The time from hospital discharge to positive RT-PCR after recovery was 7-11 days. The time from positive to negative rectal swabs was 5-23 days.
The study might suggest the positive RT-PCR after recovery did not mean disease relapse or virus reinfection. Adding RT-PCR test of rectal swabs to the criteria for discharge or discontinuation of quarantine might be necessary.
调查新冠肺炎（COVID-19）患者出院后实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测结果为阳性这一广受关注的问题。
我们共发现 7 例因出院后 RT-PCR 检测结果为阳性而再次入院的 COVID-19 患者，包括 3 名儿科患者和 4 名青年患者。
6 例患者直肠拭子检测结果为阳性而咽拭子检测结果为阴性，1 例患者咽拭子检测结果为阳性。所有患者均持续无症状，且与之前的图像相比胸部计算机断层扫描结果无变化。从出院到恢复后 RT-PCR 检测结果阳性的时间为 7-11 天。从阳性到直肠拭子转为阴性的时间为 5-23 天。
该研究表明，恢复期 RT-PCR 检测结果阳性并不意味着疾病复发或病毒再感染。可能需要将直肠拭子 RT-PCR 检测纳入出院或解除隔离的标准。
