[Low prevalence of viremia in COVID-19: Clinical implications]

To detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) in blood (viremia) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 at hospital admission, analyze the frequency of viremia, and assess its implications for the timing of convalescent plasma therapy.

In a prospective, observational, multicenter study, plasma samples were evaluated for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction in hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 and symptom duration of seven days or less who either received or did not receive convalescent plasma.

Fifty-one patients were included in the analysis, with viremia detected in three patients (5.9%). In the group receiving convalescent plasma (n = 28), viremia was detected in three patients (10.7%), while it was not detected in any patient in the group not receiving convalescent plasma (n = 23). All patients with documented viremia had critical disease. Viremia was detected exclusively between the third and fourth days from symptom onset.

The results of the study suggest that the occurrence of viremia in COVID-19 is relatively low. This fact may represent one of the factors that could limit the full therapeutic potential of convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibodies.