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Introduction: Knowledge is limited on the virologic course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, particularly the time taken for viral clearance and the optimal time to discontinue isolation. This study aims to identify the clinical and demographic factors influencing the time taken for viral clearance in patients with COVID-19 to determine the optimal isolation period. Methods: This two-center retrospective observational cohort study was conducted between March 1 and June 31, 2020. Patients with COVID-19, which was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, were included. Data were extracted from medical records. The positive duration, which was defined as the period from the day of symptom onset to the negative conversion day, was assessed using a generalized linear model. Results: We included 63 patients. The mean positive duration was 20 days. The positive duration was significantly shorter for patients younger than 30 years of age and those between 30 and 60 years of age than for patients older than 60 years of age. We observed a more scattered distribution of the positive duration in older patients than in younger patients. Conclusions: Younger patients who recovered from COVID-19 took less time to clear SARS-CoV-2 than older patients; thus, a classification of the isolation periods based on age could be considered. A uniform viral clearance period for older patients may be difficult to determine because of biases such as underlying medical conditions. Further surveillance measures are recommended to determine the viral clearance time and the optimal isolation period.

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A 70-year-old Japanese man with mantle cell lymphoma underwent extensive chemotherapy and radiation because of the relapse of mantle cell lymphoma. He developed mediastinal emphysema and a pneumothorax 14 days after treatment with 560 mg of ibrutinib. The mediastinal emphysema and the right pneumothorax disappeared after the ibrutinib treatment was tapered off. The patient developed interstitial pneumonia without any infection and new lesions of mantle cell lymphoma in the lungs after restarting treatment with 560 mg of ibrutinib. In this case, the patient developed pneumonia after retreatment with ibrutinib, suggesting the small lung fibrosis that penetrated the mediastinum might have caused the emphysema and pneumothorax.