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Updated: Jul 20, 2025
Dynamic Monitoring of Seroconversion using a Multianalyte Immunobead Assay for Covid-19
Published on: February 16, 2022
Clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 harboring detectable intracellular SARS-CoV-2 RNA in peripheral
Hiromu Tanaka1, Ho Namkoong2, Shotaro Chubachi1
1Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Objectives:
Although SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia has been reported to strongly impact patients with severe COVID-19, the clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 harboring detectable intracellular SARS-CoV-2 RNA remain unknown.
Methods:
We included adult patients who had developed COVID-19 between February and September 2020. Total white blood cells derived from the buffy coat of peripheral whole blood were used to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA using the Illumina COVIDSeq test. We compared the clinical characteristics between patients with and without detected viral RNA (detected and undetected groups).
Results:
Among the 390 patients included, 17 harbored SARS-CoV-2 RNA in peripheral white blood cells. All 17 patients required oxygen support during the disease course and had higher intensive care unit admission (52.9% vs 28.9%, P = 0.035), mortality (17.7% vs 3.5%, P = 0.004), kidney dysfunction (severe, 23.5% vs 6.4%, P = 0.029), and corticosteroid treatment rates (76.5% vs 46.5%, P = 0.016) than those of patients in the undetected group.
Conclusion:
We propose that patients with circulating intracellular SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the peripheral blood exhibited the most severe disease course.
