Background We retrospectively analyzed 26 persistently asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) carriers. Methods Epidemiological and clinical characteristics from the 26 asymptomatic patients with positive results for SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid testing were obtained. Results Twenty-two patients (84.6%) correlated with clustering occurrence. The median period from contact to diagnosis and the last positive nucleic acid test was 19 (8–24 days) and 21.5 days (10–36 days), respectively. The median period from diagnosis to negative nucleic acid test was significantly different between patients with normal or atypical chest computed tomography (CT) findings (n = 16, 61.5%; 7.5 days [2–20 days]) and patients with typical ground-glass or patchy opacities on CT (n = 10, 38.5%; 12.5 days [8–22 days]; P < .01). Seven patients (70.0%) with initial positive nucleic acid test results had a negative result simultaneously with improved CT findings. Obvious improvement in CT findings was observed in 3 patients (30.0%) despite positive nucleic acid test results. Conclusions In asymptomatic patients, changes in biochemical and inflammatory variables are small and changes on chest CT can occur. It is worth noting that the long existence of SARS-CoV-2 in some asymptomatic patients and false-negative results need to be considered in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test.

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Duration for carrying SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patientsDear editor , We read with interest the report that written by Yu and colleagues. 1 This report retrospectively analyzed laboratory-confirmed novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia patients and summarized the clinical characteristics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reactivation. However, deep understanding of SARS-CoV-2 carrying duration, the time of infection, as well as its antiviral treatment period can contribute to the management and treatment for COVID-19.The COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has transmitted quickly as a global public health emergency, with the characteristics of a high contagiosity, quick transmission and general susceptibility. 2 Previous studies mainly focused on the epidemiological, clinical characteristics, as well as prevention and control measures of COVID-19. 3 However, few studies demonstrated the duration for SARS-CoV-2 carrying in COVID-19 patients. Here, we collected the positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid cases and examined the duration for SARS-CoV-2 carrying and its characteristics in different populations.From January 20, 2020 to March 1, 2020, inpatients with a specific SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological history and a positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test were collected in this retrospective study in Henan province. We compared the durations for carrying virus SARS-CoV-2 in different ages, gender, disease condition. The duration for SARS-CoV-2 carrying was defined as the time from a close contact with the source of infection to the last positive test for COVID-19 virus. Cases in this study were also divided into severe group and non-severe group to study. The definitions of severe group (including critically ill) and group of the non-severe type were in Table 1 .

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