Virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-2019 woelfel2020virological

The authors conducted a virological analysis of nine linked cases of COVID-19 in Munich in early 2020. They quantified SARS-CoV-2 RNA gene copies in throat swabs and RNA concentrations in stool and sputum samples. Abundances were quantified using RT-qPCR assays targeting the E and RdRP genes as described in 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.3.2000045. Values were programmatically extracted from the figure, resulting in a number of significant figures far exceeding the performance of the assays. The demographic data, including age and sex, are derived from the Challenger et al. BMC Medicine (2022) 20:25 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02220-0 supplement combined dataset.

Analytes

stool

RNA gene copy concentration in stool samples. The authors report that “stool samples were taken and shipped in native conditions,” suggesting that results reported as gene copies per gram refer to wet weight.

Biomarker: SARS-CoV-2
Specimen: stool
Units: gc/mL
Gene target: E and RdRP (not further specified by authors)
Participants: 9
Negative samples: 13
Positive samples (not quantifiable): 0
Quantifiable samples: 69
Limit of quantification: 100
Limit of detection: unknown

sputum

RNA gene copy concentration in sputum samples. Results are reported as gene copies per mL.

Biomarker: SARS-CoV-2
Specimen: sputum
Units: gc/mL
Gene target: E and RdRP (not further specified by authors)
Participants: 9
Negative samples: 24
Positive samples (not quantifiable): 0
Quantifiable samples: 123
Limit of quantification: 100
Limit of detection: unknown

oropharyngeal_swab

Number of gene copies per throat swab.

Biomarker: SARS-CoV-2
Specimen: oropharyngeal swab
Units: gc/swab
Gene target: E and RdRP (not further specified by authors)
Participants: 9
Negative samples: 57
Positive samples (not quantifiable): 0
Quantifiable samples: 96
Limit of quantification: 100
Limit of detection: unknown