Prolonged SARS-CoV2 Viral Shedding in an Elderly Patient

Roopam Jariwal; Nadia Raza; Michael Valdez; Ayham Aboeed; Ralph Garcia-Pacheco

doi:10.7759/cureus.15128

Prolonged SARS-CoV2 Viral Shedding in an Elderly Patient

Cureus. 2021 May 19;13(5):e15128. doi: 10.7759/cureus.15128.

Authors

Roopam Jariwal¹, Nadia Raza¹, Michael Valdez¹, Ayham Aboeed², Ralph Garcia-Pacheco²

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine - Kern Medical Center, Bakersfield, USA.
² Pulmonary Critical Care, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine - Kern Medical Center, Bakersfield, USA.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been devastating to the elderly population, especially due to a lack of clear guidelines for treatment. Corticosteroids have been the mainstay in treating the cytokine storm caused by the virus. In the past, prolonged viral shedding of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was noted in patients treated with high-dose corticosteroids. It is unclear whether this also holds true for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV2). To our knowledge, this case report highlights the longest reported disease course of SARS-CoV2, lasting approximately 210 days.

Keywords: covid-19; elderly patients; keywords: case reports; sars-cov-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2); systemic steroids.

Publication types

Case Reports