Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39319296›Full record

Observational studyFrontiers in public health2024

Personal characteristics and transmission dynamics associated with SARS-CoV-2 semi-quantitative PCR test results: an observational study from Belgium, 2021-2022.

Toon Braeye, Kristiaan Proesmans, Dieter Van Cauteren, Ruben Brondeel, Niel Hens, Elias Vermeiren, Naïma Hammami, Angel Rosas, Adrae Taame, Emmanuel André and 1 more

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Toon BraeyeEpidemiology of Infectious Diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Kristiaan ProesmansFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Bio-analysis, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Dieter Van CauterenEpidemiology of Infectious Diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Ruben BrondeelEpidemiology of Infectious Diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Niel HensI-BioStat, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
Elias VermeirenEpidemiology of Infectious Diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Naïma HammamiDepartment of Care, Infection Prevention and Control, Flemish Community, Brussels, Belgium.
Angel RosasDirection Surveillance des Maladies Infectieuses, Agence out une Vie de Qualité (AVIQ), Charleroi, Belgium.
Adrae TaameCellule de médecine préventive- Direction santé et aide aux personnes - Vivalis/Cocom, Brussels, Belgium.
Emmanuel AndréDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, National Reference Centre for Respiratory Pathogens, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Lize CuypersDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, National Reference Centre for Respiratory Pathogens, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Following harmonization efforts by the Belgian National Reference Center for SARS-CoV-2, semi-quantitative PCR test (SQ-PCR) results, used as a proxy for viral load, were routinely collected after performing RT-qPCR tests. Methods: We investigated both the personal characteristics associated with SQ-PCR results and the transmission dynamics involving these results. We used person-level laboratory test data and contact tracing data collected in Belgium from March 2021 to February 2022. Personal characteristics (age, sex, vaccination, and laboratory-confirmed prior infection) and disease stage by date of symptom onset were analyzed in relation to SQ-PCR results using logistic regression. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) against a high viral load (≥10 Results: We included 909,157 SQ-PCR results of COVID-19 cases, 379,640 PCR results from index cases, and 72,052 SQ-PCR results of HREC. High viral load was observed more frequently among recent cases, symptomatic cases, cases over 25 years of age, and those not recently vaccinated (>90 days). The vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the primary schedule in the first 30 days after vaccination was estimated at 47.3% (95%CI 40.8-53.2) during the Delta variant period. A high viral load in index cases was associated with an increased test positivity in HREC (OR 2.7, 95%CI 2.62-2.79) and, among those testing positive, an increased likelihood of a high viral load (OR 2.84, 95%CI 2.53-3.19).

Indexed as

Contact TracingCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2Viral LoadAdolescentAdultAgedBelgiumCOVID-19 Nucleic Acid TestingCOVID-19 VaccinesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedVaccine EfficacyYoung AdultCOVID-19 Vaccinescontact tracingepidemiologySARS-CoV-2transmissionvaccine effectivenessviral load

Identifiers

PMID39319296
PMCPMC11420023

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Registered trials

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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.