Purpose: At present, it has been found that managing patients with a redetected positive RNA test after recovery from foreign-imported coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in China is challenging. The purpose of the current study was to describe the clinical characteristics of these patients.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 137 COVID-19 patients who were discharged from the Xi’an Public Health Center from 28 July 2020 to 31 December 2021. We compared the clinical characteristics between positive retest patients and non-positive retest patients.
Results: 137 COVID-19 patients entered our study, 27 (19.7%) cases of COVID-19 with a redetected positive RNA test by the end of the follow-up period. Fever [(n = 31 (22.6%)], cough [n = 26 (18.9%)] and sore throat [n = 20 (14.5%)] were the most common initial symptoms among the foreign-imported COVID-19 patients, and there were almost no significant differences in initial symptoms between positive retest patients and non-positive retest patients. The positive retest patients had a higher lymphocyte count (p = 0.031) and lymphocyte percentage (p = 0.007) during readmission. There were generally no significant differences in other routine blood test findings, IgG and IgM antibody responses, between positive retest patients and non-positive retest patients, or in positive retest patients over time (before, during, or after positive patient detection). After readmission, positive retest patients displayed fewer symptoms or no obvious disease progression and more sustained remission by CT imaging.
Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the clinical characteristics at the time of initial diagnosis were not closely related to redetected positive RNA tests after recovery from foreign-imported COVID-19 cases. Positive retest patients had virtually no symptoms and displayed no obvious disease progression during readmission. These findings provide important information and clinical evidence for the effective management of foreign-imported COVID-19 patients during their convalescent phase.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, clinical characteristics, foreign-imported cases, redetected positive RNA test