Impact of viral load on mortality in hospitalized patients affected by Covid-19 infection

Background: Early identification of predictive factors associated with mortality in hospitalized patients with Covid 19 infection is of great importance and may aid in delivering proper treatment and optimizing use of resources. Aim: In this retrospective study we aimed to correlate the viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs in order to stratify the risk of 30-days mortality. Method: One hundred and eighty-one patients consecutively hospitalized with diagnosis of COVID-19 infection were enrolled. Viral load in the nasopharyngeal swabs was estimated as the cycle threshold (Ct). The patient9s survival was assessed during the 30 days after hospital admission. Results: Patients were divided into two groups: High (HG) or Low (LO) viral load if the Ct value was lower or higher than the overall median value (24). There were no differences in terms of disease severity between the two groups. However, patients with high viral load showed higher values of serum IL-6 (112 vs 34, p value < 0,03) and higher 30-days mortality (Figure 1). Figure 1: Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the two groups of patients identified on the basis of their viral load. Conclusion: The viral load appears to have a direct impact on the patient9s mortality.