Abstract
Background: Persistent viral RNA shedding of SARS-CoV-2 following COVID-19 has increasingly been recognized, with limited understanding of its implications on outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: We retrospectively assessed for persistent viral shedding across Northwestern Medicine Healthcare (NMHC) patients between March and August 2020. We assessed for predictors of persistent viral shedding, in-hospital delirium, and six-month mortality using binary logistic regression. Results: Of the 2,518 hospitalized patients with an RT-PCR-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, 959 underwent repeat SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR at least fourteen days from initial positive testing. Of those, 405 (42.2%) patients were found to have persistent viral shedding. Persistent viral shedding was associated with male sex, increased BMI, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and exposure to corticosteroids during initial COVID-19 hospitalization. Persistent viral shedding was independently associated with incidence of in-hospital delirium after adjusting for factors including severity of respiratory dysfunction (OR 2.45; 95% CI 1.75, 3.45). Even after adjusting for age, severity of respiratory dysfunction, and occurrence of in-hospital delirium, persistent viral shedding remained significantly associated with increased six-month mortality (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.42, 4.29). Conclusions: Persistent viral shedding occurs frequently in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and is associated with in-hospital delirium and increased six-month mortality.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1241-1254 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | GeroScience |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2022 |
Funding
Dr. Liotta is supported by National Institutes of Health grant L30 NS098427.
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Delirium
- SARS-CoV-2
- Viral Shedding
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
- Aging
- Complementary and alternative medicine
- veterinary (miscalleneous)