Clinical characteristics of discharged COVID‑19 patients with reappeared positive nucleic acid test

Objective: To investigate the incidence of reappearance of positive results of nucleic acid (NA) test in discharged COVID‑19 patients, and retrospectively evaluate and compare the clinical characteristics between reappeared NA‑positive group and NA‑negative group, so as to provide the decision‑making basis for the quarantine management, health monitoring, and epidemic prevention. Methods: A total of 188 cases of discharged COVID‑19 patients from 3 quarantine observation sites in Wuhan from February to March 2020 were divided into reappeared NA‑positive group and NA‑negative group, based on the NA test. Clinical characteristics including general information, symptoms, underlying diseases, severity of disease, steroid administration, duration of hospitalization, duration from the beginning of positive to negative and time of onset of reappearance of positive for NA test, were compared between the two groups. Results: Of the 188 cases, 30 cases (15.96%) reappeared positive for NA test, and onset of reappearance ranged from day 1 to day 16 since the last NA negative, with a median time of 5 days after onset. A total of 51 cases (32.28%) in NA‑negative group had underlying diseases, while 18 (60.0%) cases reappeared NA‑positive had underlying diseases, and the rate of underlying diseases showed significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). However, there were no statistical differences in gender, age, and symptoms on admission, severity of disease, steroid administration, duration from the beginning of positive to negative for NA test between the two groups. Conclusion: Since COVID‑19 patients with underlying diseases showed higher incidence of reappearance of positive NA test, COVID‑19 patients after discharge need to strengthen for quarantine control, further continuous health monitoring, and re‑tests of SARS‑CoV‑2 nucleic acid. © 2021, Editorial Board of Medical Journal of Wuhan University. All right reserved.