tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Sci Rep
. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):30644.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65764-0. The association between baseline viral load and long-term risk in patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study
Jasper Tromp[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Michael Wong[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 3 [/SUP], Wouter Ouwerkerk[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Mei-Zhen Wu[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Qing-Wen Ren[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Chanchal Chandramouli[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kanako Teramoto[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Katherine Tiew-Hwa Teng[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jiayi Huang[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Kelvin-Kai-Wang To[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Ivan-Fan-Ngai Hung[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Hung-Fat Tse[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Carolyn S P Lam[SUP] 9 4 10 [/SUP], Kai Hang Yiu[SUP] 11 12 [/SUP]
Affiliations
COVID-19 can increase the long-term risk of multiorgan dysfunction. Few studies investigated the long-term risk in Asian populations or investigated the association between viral load and long-term risk. We aimed to investigate the post-discharge rates of hospitalization and association with baseline viral load in all patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong. This was a population-based cohort study included all patients with a positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong between January 1st 2020 and August 30th 2020, routinely admitted to public health care facilities for isolation and treatment. Viral Ct values were available in 3433 (85%) of patients. Outcomes of interest included death, cause-specific hospitalizations, and initiation of medication from the Hospital Authority's territory-wide electronic health records from the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. In total, 4054 people in Hong Kong tested positive for COVID-19 and were admitted to a public health care facility, of whom 167 (4.1%) were admitted to ICU. During a median follow-up time of 251 (interquartile range 240-279) days, 408 (11.9%) were hospitalized for any reason and 16 (0.5%) patients died. After discharge, patients were most often readmitted for respiratory reasons, followed by gastro-intestinal reasons. A higher viral load (lower RT-PCR Ct values) was associated with a higher likelihood of death (Hazard ratio
5.86, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 2.57-13.33), hospitalization (HR 1.22, 95%CI 1.08-1.39) or hospitalization for cardiovascular disease (HR 12.78, 95%CI 3.67-44.48). Patients with higher viral loads more likely started ACE-inhibitors (HR 1.37, 95%CI 1.12-1.68) and non-opioid analgesics (HR 1.01, 95%CI 1.01-1.23). In a relatively mild COVID-19 population from Hong Kong, the post-acute risk of complications was substantial. Our results highlight that higher viral load predict post-acute complications in patients with relatively mild disease.
. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):30644.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65764-0. The association between baseline viral load and long-term risk in patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study
Jasper Tromp[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Michael Wong[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 3 [/SUP], Wouter Ouwerkerk[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Mei-Zhen Wu[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Qing-Wen Ren[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Chanchal Chandramouli[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kanako Teramoto[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Katherine Tiew-Hwa Teng[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jiayi Huang[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Kelvin-Kai-Wang To[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Ivan-Fan-Ngai Hung[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Hung-Fat Tse[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Carolyn S P Lam[SUP] 9 4 10 [/SUP], Kai Hang Yiu[SUP] 11 12 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39730325
- PMCID: PMC11680948
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65764-0
COVID-19 can increase the long-term risk of multiorgan dysfunction. Few studies investigated the long-term risk in Asian populations or investigated the association between viral load and long-term risk. We aimed to investigate the post-discharge rates of hospitalization and association with baseline viral load in all patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong. This was a population-based cohort study included all patients with a positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong between January 1st 2020 and August 30th 2020, routinely admitted to public health care facilities for isolation and treatment. Viral Ct values were available in 3433 (85%) of patients. Outcomes of interest included death, cause-specific hospitalizations, and initiation of medication from the Hospital Authority's territory-wide electronic health records from the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. In total, 4054 people in Hong Kong tested positive for COVID-19 and were admitted to a public health care facility, of whom 167 (4.1%) were admitted to ICU. During a median follow-up time of 251 (interquartile range 240-279) days, 408 (11.9%) were hospitalized for any reason and 16 (0.5%) patients died. After discharge, patients were most often readmitted for respiratory reasons, followed by gastro-intestinal reasons. A higher viral load (lower RT-PCR Ct values) was associated with a higher likelihood of death (Hazard ratio
5.86, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 2.57-13.33), hospitalization (HR 1.22, 95%CI 1.08-1.39) or hospitalization for cardiovascular disease (HR 12.78, 95%CI 3.67-44.48). Patients with higher viral loads more likely started ACE-inhibitors (HR 1.37, 95%CI 1.12-1.68) and non-opioid analgesics (HR 1.01, 95%CI 1.01-1.23). In a relatively mild COVID-19 population from Hong Kong, the post-acute risk of complications was substantial. Our results highlight that higher viral load predict post-acute complications in patients with relatively mild disease.