Background Previous studies showed that recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can have a subsequent positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after they are discharged from the hospital. Understanding the epidemiological characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients who have a re-positive test is vital for preventing a second wave of COVID-19. Methods This retrospective study analyzed the epidemiological and clinical features of 20,280 COVID-19 patients from multiple centers in Wuhan who had a positive PCR test between December 31, 2019, and August 4, 2020. The RT-PCR test results for 4079 individuals who had close contact with the re-positive cases were also obtained. Results In total, 2466 (12.16%) of the 20,280 patients had a re-positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test after they were discharged from the hospital, and 4079 individuals had close contact with members of this patient group. All of these 4079 individuals had a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. Conclusions This retrospective study in Wuhan analyzed the basic characteristics of recovered COVID-19 patients with re-positive PCR test and found that these cases may not be infectious. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12916-021-01954-1.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, close contact, Repeat positive, Subsequent infection, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, hospital, Retrospective study, PCR, Characteristics, Wuhan, Patient, understanding, second wave, epidemiological, PCR test, clinical feature, RT-PCR test, COVID-19 patient, acute respiratory syndrome, supplementary material, individual, positive PCR test, previous study, positive, SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, recovered COVID-19 patient, polymerase chain, Result, analyzed, subsequent, discharged, 【제목키워드】 Wuhan, PCR test, follow-up study, recovered patient,