There is limited and controverting evidence looking at possible associations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA copies and patient variables in large cohorts of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. We studied 2275 symptomatic and asymptomatic patients from Colombia with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and analyzed the associations between RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value with gender, age, comorbidities, symptomatology, and disease severity. 15.4 % of the samples (n = 428) reported at least one comorbidity. There were 2011 symptomatic cases (72.4 %), being the most common reported symptom cough (57.2 %, n = 1586). Respiratory distress was present in 21.4 % of patients (n = 595), and 435 patients (15.6 %) required hospital admission. We observed that patients with no prior medical history harbored higher RNA copies than patients with comorbidities (p = 0.02). No significant differences in RNA copies were observed between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (p = 0.82). Strong correlations were detected between Ct values and the presence of odynophagia (p = 0.03), diarrhea (p = 0.04), and headache (p = 0.0008). An inverse association was found between RNA copy number and markers of disease severity, namely, respiratory distress (P < 0.0001) and hospitalization requirement (P < 0.0001). SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR cycle thresholds reveal strong associations with a prior medical history, specific symptomatology, and disease severity markers. Further research controlling potential confounding variables needs to be conducted to evaluate the nature and usefulness of these associations in managing COVID-19 patients.

中文翻译：

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对比第一波 COVID-19 大流行期间哥伦比亚一大群患者的 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 拷贝和临床症状

在大量有症状和无症状患者中，关于严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA 拷贝与患者变量之间可能关联的证据有限且存在争议。我们研究了来自哥伦比亚的 2275 名有症状和无症状的 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 患者，并分析了 RT-PCR 循环阈值 (Ct) 值与性别、年龄、合并症、症状和疾病严重程度之间的关联。15.4% 的样本 (n = 428) 报告至少一种合并症。2011 例有症状病例 (72.4%)，最常见的症状是咳嗽 (57.2%，n = 1586)。21.4% 的患者 (n = 595) 出现呼吸窘迫，435 名患者 (15.6%) 需要入院。我们观察到，没有既往病史的患者比有合并症的患者具有更高的 RNA 拷贝数 (p = 0.02)。有症状和无症状患者之间的 RNA 拷贝数没有显着差异 (p = 0.82)。Ct 值与吞咽痛 (p = 0.03)、腹泻 (p = 0.04) 和头痛 (p = 0.0008) 之间存在很强的相关性。研究发现，RNA 拷贝数与疾病严重程度标志物，即呼吸窘迫 (P < 0.0001) 和住院要求 (P < 0.0001) 之间存在负相关。SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR 循环阈值显示与既往病史、特定症状和疾病严重程度标志物密切相关。需要进行进一步的研究来控制潜在的混杂变量，以评估这些关联在管理 COVID-19 患者方面的性质和有用性。