SynthesisBMC medicine2020
At what times during infection is SARS-CoV-2 detectable and no longer detectable using RT-PCR-based tests? A systematic review of individual participant data.
Synthesis in BMC medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 104 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
104 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 183 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of sample site and collection procedure on identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Overlapping research efforts in a global pandemic: a rapid systematic review of COVID-19-related individual participant data meta-analyses.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- Accuracy of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) to diagnose COVID-19, a meta-analysis.Microbial pathogenesis · 2022Pooled it
- Diagnostic efficiency of RPA/RAA integrated CRISPR-Cas technique for COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Cost and cost-effectiveness of four different SARS-CoV-2 active surveillance strategies: evidence from a randomised control trial in Germany.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2023Trial
- Remdesivir in Coronavirus Disease 2019 patients treated with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies: a case series.Infection · 2022Trial
- COVID-19 Exposure, Protective Measures, Symptom Assessment, and Risk Perception Among Healthcare Workers in Peru: A Longitudinal Cohort Study (2020-2021).Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2025Article
- Temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 shedding in feces and saliva: a longitudinal study in Norfolk, United Kingdom during the 2021-2022 COVID-19 waves.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Article
- Changes in the spectrum of ocular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2022 in the Hubei Province.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in Nursing Home Staff and Residents during the First SARS-CoV-2 Wave in Flanders, Belgium.Viruses · 2024Article
- RT-qPCR Testing and Performance Metrics in the COVID-19 Era.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- An enhanced IL17 and muted type I interferon nasal epithelial cell state characterizes severe COVID-19 with fungal coinfection.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Lurking and Lingering in the Depths of Lungs.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2024Article
- Spatio-temporal epidemiology and associated indicators of COVID-19 (wave-I and II) in India.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 co-detection with influenza and human respiratory syncytial virus in Ethiopia: Findings from the severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) sentinel surveillance, January 01, 2021, to June 30, 2022.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and associated risk factors for clinical cases of cerebral venous thrombosis: A case series.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2024Article
- Faradaic Impedimetric Immunosensor for Label-Free Point-of-Care Detection of COVID-19 Antibodies Using Gold-Interdigitated Electrode Array.Biosensors · 2023Article
- Molecular diagnostic approaches for SARS-CoV-2 detection and pathophysiological consequences.Molecular biology reports · 2023Review
- Development of a Multispecies Double-Antigen Sandwich ELISA Using N and RBD Proteins to Detect Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are pivotal to detecting current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and duration of detectable virus indicating potential for infectivity.
methodsWe conducted an individual participant data (IPD) systematic review of longitudinal studies of RT-PCR test results in symptomatic SARS-CoV-2. We searched PubMed, LitCOVID, medRxiv, and COVID-19 Living Evidence databases. We assessed risk of bias using a QUADAS-2 adaptation. Outcomes were the percentage of positive test results by time and the duration of detectable virus, by anatomical sampling sites.
resultsOf 5078 studies screened, we included 32 studies with 1023 SARS-CoV-2 infected participants and 1619 test results, from - 6 to 66 days post-symptom onset and hospitalisation. The highest percentage virus detection was from nasopharyngeal sampling between 0 and 4 days post-symptom onset at 89% (95% confidence interval (CI) 83 to 93) dropping to 54% (95% CI 47 to 61) after 10 to 14 days. On average, duration of detectable virus was longer with lower respiratory tract (LRT) sampling than upper respiratory tract (URT). Duration of faecal and respiratory tract virus detection varied greatly within individual participants. In some participants, virus was still detectable at 46 days post-symptom onset.
conclusionsRT-PCR misses detection of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection; early sampling minimises false negative diagnoses. Beyond 10 days post-symptom onset, lower RT or faecal testing may be preferred sampling sites. The included studies are open to substantial risk of bias, so the positivity rates are probably overestimated.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.