Occupational and Employee Health Section and Infectious Disease Section, Medical Service and Laboratory Medicine Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System (Ms Domeracki, Dr Clapp, Mr Taylor, Dr Lu, Dr Lampiris, Dr Blanc); Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing, Community Health Systems, School of Nursing (Ms Domeracki); Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (Dr Clapp, Dr Blanc); Department of Laboratory Medicine (Dr Lu); and Division of Infectious Disease (Dr Lampiris), Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
J Occup Environ Med. 2020 Nov;62(11):889-891. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001996.
To ascertain whether reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) cycle amplifications until detection, the cycle threshold (Ct), could help inform return to work (RTW) strategies for health care workers (HCWs) recovering from COVID-19 infection.
Sequential Ct data from COVID-19 nasal pharyngeal (NP) RT-PCR testing in all COVID-19 positive HCWs at a single institution. Analysis of Ct in relation to time until negative testing for RTW clearance.
Data for 12 employees showed that time elapsed until RT-PCR test-based RTW clearance ranged from 7 to 57 days (median, 34.5 days). Lower initial Ct correlated with the total time elapsed until clearance (r = -0.80; P = 0.002).
Considering the RT-PCR Ct, which correlates with the estimated viral load, may help inform RTW planning and decision making beyond solely relying on dichotomized positive/negative results.
确定逆转录酶聚合酶链反应 (RT-PCR) 循环扩增直至检测到循环阈值 (Ct) 是否有助于为从 COVID-19 感染中康复的医护人员 (HCW) 制定重返工作岗位 (RTW) 策略。
对单一机构中所有 COVID-19 阳性 HCW 的 COVID-19 鼻咽喉 (NP) RT-PCR 检测的连续 Ct 数据进行分析。分析 Ct 与 RTW 清除阴性检测的时间之间的关系。
12 名员工的数据显示，基于 RT-PCR 检测的 RTW 清除时间从 7 天到 57 天不等（中位数为 34.5 天）。较低的初始 Ct 与清除总时间相关（r=-0.80；P=0.002）。
考虑到与估计病毒载量相关的 RT-PCR Ct，可能有助于在仅依赖于二分类阳性/阴性结果的基础上，为 RTW 计划和决策提供信息。
