Presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in COVID‐19 survivors with post‐COVID symptoms 2 years after hospitalization: The VIPER study

• Published in: Journal of medical virology Vol. 96; no. 5; pp. e29676 - n/a
• Main Authors: Fernández‐de‐las‐Peñas, César, Torres‐Macho, Juan, Ruiz‐Ruigómez, Maria, Arrieta‐Ortubay, Estibaliz, Rodríguez‐Rebollo, Carolina, Akasbi‐Moltalvo, Míriam, Pardo‐Guimerá, Virginia, Ryan‐Murua, Pablo, Lumbreras‐Bermejo, Carlos, Pellicer‐Valero, Oscar J., Giordano, Rocco, Arendt‐Nielsen, Lars, Franco‐Moreno, Anabel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-05-2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Body mass index; Body size; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; COVID-19 - virology; DNA-directed RNA polymerase; Dyspnea; Feces - virology; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Infections; long‐COVID; Male; Middle Aged; Nasopharynx - virology; Plasma; Polymerase chain reaction; post‐COVID‐19; Respiration; Reverse transcription; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Viral - blood; RNA, Viral - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; stool; Survival; Survivors; Urine; Vaccination; Viral diseases; viral persistence; long‐COVID; stool; RNA; urine; post‐COVID‐19; viral persistence; plasma
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29676
• EISSN: 1096-9071
• ISSN: 0146-6615

The SARS‐CoV‐2 VIrus PERsistence (VIPER) study investigated the presence of long‐lasting SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in plasma, stool, urine, and nasopharyngeal samples in COVID‐19 survivors. The presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT‐PCR) were analyzed within plasma, stool, urine, and nasopharyngeal swab samples in COVID‐19 survivors with post‐COVID symptoms and a comparison group of COVID‐19 survivors without post‐COVID symptoms matched by age, sex, body mass index and vaccination status. Participants self‐reported the presence of any post‐COVID symptom (defined as a symptom that started no later than 3 months after the initial infection). Fifty‐seven (57.9% women, age: 51.1, standard deviation [SD]: 10.4 years) previously hospitalized COVID‐19 survivors with post‐COVID symptoms and 55 (56.4% women, age: 50.0, SD: 12.8 years) matched individuals who had a past SARS‐CoV‐2 infection without post‐COVID symptoms were evaluated 27 (SD 7.5) and 26 (SD 8.7) months after hospital discharge, respectively. The presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA was identified in three nasopharyngeal samples of patients with post‐COVID symptoms (5.2%) but not in plasma, stool, or urine samples. Thus, SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA was not identified in any sample of survivors without post‐COVID symptoms. The most prevalent post‐COVID symptoms consisted of fatigue (93%), dyspnea, and pain (both, 87.7%). This study did not find SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in plasma, stool, or urine samples, 2 years after the infection. A prevalence of 5.2% of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in nasopharyngeal samples, suggesting a potential active or recent reinfection, was found in patients with post‐COVID symptoms. These results do not support the association between SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in plasma, stool, urine, or nasopharyngeal swab samples and post‐COVID symptomatology in the recruited population.