ArticleInfection2021
Higher viral loads in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients might be the invisible part of the iceberg.
Article in Infection, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
66 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of Mouth Rinses and Nasal Spray in the Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis ofInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- SARS-CoV-2 saliva testing using RT-PCR: a systematic review.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Pooled it
- The relationship between COVID-19 viral load and disease severity: A systematic review.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2022Pooled it
- Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Pooled it
- Screening for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR: Saliva or nasopharyngeal swab? Rapid review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Nerve- and airway-associated interstitial macrophages mitigate SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis via type I interferon signaling.Immunity · 2025Article
- Association of SARS-COV-2 Real-Time PCR Cycle Threshold (Ct) Values with the Clinical and Laboratory Profiles of Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Admitted in Tertiary Infectious Disease Hospital in Manila: A Retrospective Study.Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Association between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and serum biomarkers with mortality in Mexican patients.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- Uncovering the Contrasts and Connections in PASC: Viral Load and Cytokine Signatures in Acute COVID-19 versus Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC).Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Testing for SARS-CoV-2: lessons learned and current use cases.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Anton-Babinski Syndrome: A Visual Anosognosia.Cureus · 2024Article
- A novel film spray containing curcumin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus infection and enhances mucosal immunity.Virology journal · 2024Article
- Sandwich ELISA for the Quantification of Nucleocapsid Protein of SARS-CoV-2 Based on Polyclonal Antibodies from Two Different Species.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Article
- Net-Shaped DNA Nanostructures Designed for Rapid/Sensitive Detection and Potential Inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023Article
- Protection against Severe Illness versus Immunity-Redefining Vaccine Effectiveness in the Aftermath of COVID-19.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Article
- COVID-19 Outbreak during Summer Courses at an Elementary School.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Automated diagnosis of COVID-19 using radiological modalities and Artificial Intelligence functionalities: A retrospective study based on chest HRCT database.Biomedical signal processing and control · 2023Article
- Comparing SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Human Saliva to Oropharyngeal Swabs, Nasopharyngeal Swabs, and Sputum: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2023Review
6 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
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeSARS-CoV-2 virus dynamics in different hosts and different samples and their relationship with disease severity have not been clearly revealed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the viral loads of 6 different sample types (nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal combined, oral cavity, saliva, rectal, urine, and blood) of patients with different ages and clinics, to reveal the relationship between disease course and SARS-CoV-2 viral load, and differences in viral loads of asymptomatic and symptomatic patients.
methodsNasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal, oral cavity, saliva, rectal, urine, and blood samples are collected from patients who were hospitalized with diagnosis of COVID-19 on admission. Laboratory analysis were carried out at Public Health Institute of Turkey Virology Reference and Research Laboratory.
resultsA total of 360 samples from 60 patients were obtained on admission. Fifteen (25%) of the patients were asymptomatic while 45 (75%) were symptomatic. A significant difference was found between mean ages of asymptomatic vs symptomatic patients (26.4 and 36.4, respectively, p = 0.0248). No PCR positivity were found in blood. Only one asymptomatic patient had positive PCR result for urine sample. Viral loads of asymptomatic patients were found to be significantly higher (p = 0.0141) when compared with symptomatic patients. Viral load had a significant negative trend with increasing age. A significant decrease in viral load was observed with increasing disease severity.
conclusionIn conclusion, this study demonstrates that asymptomatic patients have higher SARSCoV-2 viral loads than symptomatic patients and unlike in the few study in the literature, a significant decrease in viral load of nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal samples was observed with increasing disease severity. Factors associated with poor prognosis are found to be significantly correlated with low viral load.
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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.