Fig. 1.

Timeline presenting milestones of disease from onset of COVID 19 up until negative virus culture. Our patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 based on a positive result from SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR first on March 11. Admission to the hospital was required on March 27 due to progressive clinical deterioration. Administration of an experimental treatment approach comprising convalescent plasma transfusion and interleukin-6 receptor blockade by tocilizumab was performed on April 10 and convalescent plasma was administered for a second time on April 21. A virus culture within week 7 of disease still showed a positive result and, thus, confirmed prolonged viral shedding in this patient. Viral culture control in week 10 presented a negative result. COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; RT-PCR = real-time polymerase chain reaction.