key: cord-0800702-9xdtmk8q
authors: Peng, Liang; Liu, Jing; Xu, Wenxiong; Luo, Qiumin; Chen, Dabiao; Lei, Ziying; Huang, Zhanlian; Li, Xuejun; Deng, Keji; Lin, Bingliang; Gao, Zhiliang
title: SARS‐CoV‐2 can be detected in urine, blood, anal swabs, and oropharyngeal swabs specimens
date: 2020-04-30
journal: J Med Virol
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25936
sha: 005d2dab672c2c970d0346dd9015363ddad3fd05
doc_id: 800702
cord_uid: 9xdtmk8q

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) ribonucleic acid (RNA) in urine and blood specimens, and anal and oropharyngeal swabs from patients with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, and correlated positive results with clinical findings. METHODS: Patients with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infections were included in this study. Patients' demographic and clinical data were recorded. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in urine and blood specimens, and anal and oropharyngeal swabs. The study is registered at http://ClinicalTrials.gov (No. NCT04279782, 19 February, 2020). RESULTS: SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA was present in all four specimen types, though not all specimen types were positive simultaneously. The presence of viral RNA was not necessarily predictive of clinical symptoms, for example, the presence of viral RNA in the urine did not necessarily predict urinary tract symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: SARS‐CoV‐2 can infect multiple systems, including the urinary tract. Testing different specimen types may be useful for monitoring disease changes and progression, and for establishing a prognosis.

Of 74 patients admitted to the isolation unit with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infections from 22 January, 2020 to 29 February, 2020, 13 were confirmed diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infections by the CDC using qualitative nucleic acid detection, and nine patients were enrolled in this study (rest four patients were transferred to another hospital without collecting their specimens). The average age of the nine patients was 38.9 ± 11.8 years, and there were five females and four males. Eight Table 1 . 

Cough + + − − + + − + + 6 (67%) Sputum, productive − + − − − + − + − 3 (33%) Dyspnea − − − − − − − − − 0 Sneezing − − − − − − − − − 0 Sore throat - + - + + − − − − 3 (33%) Fatigue + − + − − − − − − 2 (22%) Diarrhea − − − − − − − + − 1 (11%) Urinary tract irritation − − − − − − − − −

All patients received antiviral treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir. Seven patients were also treated with arbidol, and one patient was administered interferon alfa inhalation. Four patients required supplemental oxygen support. At the time this report was prepared, five patients had recovered and were discharged, and four patients were still hospitalized with improvements in their conditions.

The pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection is still unclear.

Current evidence indicates that it can invade multiple organ systems, including the respiratory system, digestive system, and hematological system. 4 

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Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in different types of clinical specimens