Spirito Lorenzo, Pinchera Biagio, Patrì Angela, Delfino Mario, Imbimbo Ciro, Salvatore Paola, Gentile Ivan, Fabbrocini Gabriella
Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Section of Urology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Adv Virol. 2020 Dec 9;2020:8826943. doi: 10.1155/2020/8826943. eCollection 2020.
The SARS-CoV-2 infection has caused one of the worst pandemics that history has ever known. SARS-CoV-2 can lead to multiple organ failure, which is life-threatening. Viral RNA is found in the lung, intestine, testicle, kidney, etc., which suggests the virus can be transmitted also via routes besides respiratory droplets. The aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in urethral swabs.
We enrolled ten patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who attended the Infectious Diseases Unit of the A.O.U. Federico II of Naples, from March 2020 to April 2020. One urethral swab and one rhino-oropharyngeal swab were collected from each patient during SARS-CoV-2 infection.
All ten patients had a negative urethral swab for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, whereas the rhino-oropharyngeal swab was positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This finding demonstrates that, in our patients, the virus did not affect the urinary tract and therefore would not be found in the urine, and even more importantly, it would not be transmitted via urine. This result was independent of the stage of the disease.
If confirmed in larger studies, this observation could be the key to understanding the role of SARS-CoV-2 in relation to the genitourinary system.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染引发了历史上最严重的大流行之一。SARS-CoV-2可导致多器官功能衰竭，危及生命。在肺、肠道、睾丸、肾脏等部位发现了病毒RNA，这表明该病毒除了通过呼吸道飞沫传播外，还可通过其他途径传播。我们研究的目的是评估尿道拭子中SARS-CoV-2的存在情况。
我们纳入了2020年3月至2020年4月期间在那不勒斯费德里科二世大学医院传染病科就诊的10例SARS-CoV-2感染患者。在SARS-CoV-2感染期间，从每位患者采集一份尿道拭子和一份鼻-口咽拭子。
所有10例患者的尿道拭子SARS-CoV-2 RNA检测均为阴性，而鼻-口咽拭子SARS-CoV-2 RNA检测为阳性。这一发现表明，在我们的患者中，病毒未影响泌尿系统，因此不会在尿液中发现，更重要的是，它不会通过尿液传播。这一结果与疾病阶段无关。
如果在更大规模的研究中得到证实，这一观察结果可能是理解SARS-CoV-2在泌尿生殖系统中作用的关键。
