tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Infect Dis
. 2021 Feb 13;jiab099.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab099. Online ahead of print.
High amounts of SARS-CoV-2 precede sickness among asymptomatic healthcare workers
Joakim Dillner[SUP] 1 [/SUP], K Miriam Elfstr?m[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jonas Blomqvist[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lars Engstrand[SUP] 1 3 4 [/SUP], Mathias Uhl?n[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Carina Eklund[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fredrik Boulund[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Camilla Lagheden[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marica Hamsten[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sara Nordqvist-Kleppe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maike Seifert[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Cecilia Hellstr?m[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jennie Olofsson[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Eni Andersson[SUP] 5 [/SUP], August Jernbom Falk[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sofia Bergstr?m[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Emilie Hultin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elisa Pin[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Ville N Pimenoff[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sadaf Hassan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anna M?nberg[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Peter Nilsson[SUP] 5 [/SUP], My Hedhammar[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Sophia Hober[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Johan Mattsson[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laila Sara Arroyo M?hr[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kalle Conneryd Lundgren[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Whether SARS-CoV-2 positivity among symptomatic subjects reflects past or future disease may be difficult to ascertain.
Methods: We tested a cohort of 9449 employees at work at the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies, linked the testing results to sick leave records and determined associations with past or future sick leave using multinomial logistic regression. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04411576.
Results: Subjects with high amounts of SARS-CoV-2 virus, as indicated by the Cycle threshold (Ct) value in the PCR, had the highest risk for sick leave in the two weeks after testing (OR 11.97 (CI 95% 6.29-22.80)) whereas subjects with low amounts of virus had the highest risk for sick leave in the past three weeks before testing (OR 6.31 (4.38-9.08)). Only 2.5% of employees were SARS-CoV-2 positive while 10.5% were positive by serology and 1.2% were positive in both tests. Serology-positive subjects were not at excess risk for future sick leave (OR 1.06 (95% CI, 0.71-1.57)).
Conclusions: High amounts of SARS-CoV-2 virus, as determined using PCR Ct values, associates with development of sickness in the next few weeks. The results support the concept that PCR Ct may be informative when testing for SARS-CoV-2 is performed.
Keywords: Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; antibodies; healthcare workers; sick leave.
. 2021 Feb 13;jiab099.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab099. Online ahead of print.
High amounts of SARS-CoV-2 precede sickness among asymptomatic healthcare workers
Joakim Dillner[SUP] 1 [/SUP], K Miriam Elfstr?m[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jonas Blomqvist[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lars Engstrand[SUP] 1 3 4 [/SUP], Mathias Uhl?n[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Carina Eklund[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fredrik Boulund[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Camilla Lagheden[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marica Hamsten[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sara Nordqvist-Kleppe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maike Seifert[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Cecilia Hellstr?m[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jennie Olofsson[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Eni Andersson[SUP] 5 [/SUP], August Jernbom Falk[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sofia Bergstr?m[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Emilie Hultin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elisa Pin[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Ville N Pimenoff[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sadaf Hassan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anna M?nberg[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Peter Nilsson[SUP] 5 [/SUP], My Hedhammar[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Sophia Hober[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Johan Mattsson[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laila Sara Arroyo M?hr[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kalle Conneryd Lundgren[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33580261
- DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiab099
Abstract
Background: Whether SARS-CoV-2 positivity among symptomatic subjects reflects past or future disease may be difficult to ascertain.
Methods: We tested a cohort of 9449 employees at work at the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies, linked the testing results to sick leave records and determined associations with past or future sick leave using multinomial logistic regression. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04411576.
Results: Subjects with high amounts of SARS-CoV-2 virus, as indicated by the Cycle threshold (Ct) value in the PCR, had the highest risk for sick leave in the two weeks after testing (OR 11.97 (CI 95% 6.29-22.80)) whereas subjects with low amounts of virus had the highest risk for sick leave in the past three weeks before testing (OR 6.31 (4.38-9.08)). Only 2.5% of employees were SARS-CoV-2 positive while 10.5% were positive by serology and 1.2% were positive in both tests. Serology-positive subjects were not at excess risk for future sick leave (OR 1.06 (95% CI, 0.71-1.57)).
Conclusions: High amounts of SARS-CoV-2 virus, as determined using PCR Ct values, associates with development of sickness in the next few weeks. The results support the concept that PCR Ct may be informative when testing for SARS-CoV-2 is performed.
Keywords: Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; antibodies; healthcare workers; sick leave.