SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in the Pulmonary Compartment of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Correlates with Viral Serum Load and Fatal Outcomes.

ABSTRACT: While SARS-CoV-2 detection in sputum and swabs from the upper respiratory tract has been used as a diagnostic tool, virus quantification showed poor correlation to disease outcome and thus, poor prognostic value. Although the pulmonary compartment represents a relevant site for viral load analysis, limited data exploring the lower respiratory tract is available, and its association to clinical outcomes is relatively unknown. Using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and serum samples, we quantified SARS-CoV-2 copy numbers in the pulmonary and systemic compartments of critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit of a COVID-19 referral hospital in Croatia during the second and third pandemic waves. Clinical data, including 30-day survival after ICU admission, were included. We found

SUBMITTER: Ynga-Durand M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9228931 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature