Researchers analyzed records from 314 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and viral pneumonia at New York City-based NYU Langone Medical Center between March 31 and April 10. Patients included in the study were tested upon arrival to the emergency room using polymerase chain reaction tests, which also indicate viral load.
Patients were classified into three groups based on the amount of viral load detected: low, intermediate or high.
“High viral load was shown to be a predictor of poor outcomes above and beyond age, other medical problems and severity of illness on presentation, indicating that it can be used to risk-stratify, or triage, patients,” Ioannis Zacharioudakis, MD, study author and infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone Health, said in a news release.
Researchers also found that patients with comorbidities and transplant recipients were more likely to have higher viral loads at the time of hospital admission.
More articles on patient safety:
Insurance type may affect quality of surgical care, study finds
Boston Children’s Hospital to end 2 intersex surgeries
Down syndrome linked to 10 times higher COVID-19 death risk, UK study finds
