Table 2.
Specimen Characteristics, SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR, and Viral Culture Results
| ICU (n = 50) | LTACH (n = 28) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of specimens, n (median number of specimens per patient) | 362 (5.5) | 167 (6) |
| Midturbinate specimens | 244 (4) | 84 (3) |
| Endotracheal/tracheal aspirate specimens | 118a (4) | 83 (3) |
| Median (range) days from symptom onset to first specimen collection date | 15 (6–45) | 58.5 (34–139) |
| Number of patients with culture-positiveb specimens | 5 | 0 |
| Median number of specimens per patient with a positive culture result,c n (range) | 2 (1–4) | 0 |
| Midturbinate specimens | 2 (1–2) | 0 |
| Endotracheal/tracheal aspirate specimens | 1 (0–2) | 0 |
| Number of patients with SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected by RT-qPCR | 40 | 7 |
| Median number of specimens per patient with a positive RT-qPCR result, n (range) | 4 (1–19) | 1 (1–5) |
| Midturbinate specimens | 3 (1–10) | 1 (0–3) |
| Endotracheal/tracheal aspirate specimens | 1 (0–9) | 0 (0–2) |
Abbreviations: CPE, cytopathic effect; ICU, intensive care unit; LTACH, long-term acute care hospital; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
a
Median number of specimens collected from the 27 patients who had at least 1 endotracheal specimen collected.
b
Defined as presence of compatible CPE in both primary and passage plates plus positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR in post-passage viral culture supernatant.
c
Calculated only for patients with at least 1 positive viral culture.