Recurrent Positivity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a Clinically Recovered COVID-19 Patient with End Stage Renal Disease: A Case Report

Abstract

Recurrent or persistent positivity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in clinically recovered COVID-19 patients have been reported worldwide. However, replication competent live viruses were not recovered beyond two to three weeks from onset of symptoms in mild to severe cases of COVID-19. End stage renal disease is characterized by uremia induced immune dysfunction that increases the risk of infectious diseases including COVID-19. The clinical implications of recurrent or persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in immunocompromised patients are difficult to be generalized to findings as in immunocompetent patients. We report a case of end stage renal disease with recent history of recovered COVID-19 pneumonia, who again presented with positive reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease; COVID-19; end stage renal disease; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2.