Journal of Infectious Diseases & Preventive Medicine
Open Access

Department of Microbiology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Publications

• Case Report   
  Case Report: Discordant RT-PCR Results in COVID-19 Patient Challenges Clinical Decisions
  Author(s): Leila Smith, Liam Smyth, Eoin Feeney, Kirsten Schaffer and Jaythoon Hassan*
  
  We report a case study of a COVID-19 patient whose PCR results fluctuated from detected to not detected over a period of 3 weeks depending on the PCR assay used and the challenge this presented to clinicians. This is the first report of the longitudinal assessment of a COVID-19 patient in Ireland who was followed up for 45 days since the first positive result. Our findings highlight the difficulty for clinicians in making a decision to move patients to a different ward or for discharge from hospital whilst adhering to initial recommendations published by the WHO to confirm clearance of the virus which was that the patient required to be clinically recovered and to have two negative RT-PCR results on sequential samples taken at least 24 hours apart. Furthermore, researchers have stressed the need for caution in interpreting any negative results of RT-PCR diagnostic tests as many factor.. View More»
  DOI: 10.35248/2329-8731.21.9.221

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