SynthesisThe Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2021
Systematic review on the association between respiratory virus real-time PCR cycle threshold values and clinical presentation or outcomes.
Synthesis in The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed.
- Performance evaluation of the BioFire respiratory panel 2.1 plus and exploratory analysis of Ct values for respiratory pathogen quantification.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026Article
- Early clinical predictors of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in hospitalized children during the 2024 outbreak in South Korea.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026Article
- Age- and Virus-Composition-Aware Interpretation of Respiratory Viral Co-Detection Using Same-Day C-Reactive Protein Profiles: A 2008-2024 Multiplex PCR Laboratory Cohort Study.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Challenges and opportunities in the management of severe pneumonia. Key concepts from the Seventh Annual Meeting of Spanish Experts 2025.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2026Review
- Nationwide population-level influenza cycle threshold values and trends in influenza incidence: a longitudinal study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comparison of Sofia 2 Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fluorescent Immunoassay to Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay in Children Under Two Years Old Hospitalized With Acute Respiratory Illness in Amman, Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Cefiderocol: A Comprehensive Review of Chemistry, Mechanisms of Resistance, and Clinical Applications in the Era of Multidrug Resistance.Current microbiology · 2025Review
- Impact of respiratory viruses detection on outcomes in ventilated nosocomial pneumonia: an exposed/unexposed study.Annals of intensive care · 2025Article
- Effect of Influenza Vaccination on the Disease Severity and Viral Load Among Adult Outpatients and Inpatients.Vaccines · 2025Article
- Cycle threshold values and SARS-CoV-2 variant associations with breakthrough infections: a retrospective study in Accra, Ghana.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- A pooled testing strategy for enterovirus D68 to facilitate local, resource-conserving surveillance.Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Simultaneous Detection and Differentiation of SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A/B, and Respiratory Syncytial Viruses in Respiratory Specimens Using the VitaSIRODiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Quantifying viral load and characterizing virus diversity in wildlife samples with target enrichment sequencing.Microbial genomics · 2025Article
- Proteins and peptides as antigen candidates for the immunodiagnosis of hepatitis D.Amino acids · 2025Review
- Article
- Key Insights into Respiratory Virus Testing: Sensitivity and Clinical Implications.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Article
- Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae among Brazilian children: Interplay with viral co-infection.PloS one · 2025Article
- The association between baseline viral load and long-term risk in patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Performance Assessment of a Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection of Viruses Causing Respiratory Tract Infections.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesIt is unclear whether real-time (rt)-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values can be utilized to guide clinical and infection-control decisions. This systematic review assesses the association between respiratory pathogen rt-PCR Ct values and clinical presentation or outcomes.
methodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases on 14-17 January 2020 for studies reporting the presence or absence of an association between Ct values and clinical presentation or outcomes, excluding animal studies, reviews, meta-analyses, and non-English language studies.
resultsAmong 33 studies identified (reporting on between 9 and 4918 participants by pathogen), influenza (n = 11 studies; 4918 participants), human rhinovirus (HRV, n = 11; 2012) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, n = 8; 3290) were the most-studied pathogens. Low influenza Ct values were associated with mortality in 1/3 studies, with increased disease severity/duration or ICU admission in 3/9, and with increased hospitalization or length of hospital stay (LOS) in 1/6. Low HRV Ct values were associated with increased disease severity/duration or ICU admission in 3/10 studies, and with increased hospitalization or LOS in 1/3. Low RSV Ct values were associated with increased disease severity/duration or ICU admission in 3/6 studies, and with increased hospitalization or LOS in 4/4. Contradictory associations were also identified for other respiratory pathogens.
conclusionsRespiratory infection Ct values may inform clinical and infection-control decisions. However, the study heterogeneity observed in this review highlights the need for standardized workflows to utilize Ct values as a proxy of genomic load and confirm their value for respiratory infection management.
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