Fecal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) RNA Is Associated With Decreased Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Survival

Upasana Das Adhikari; George Eng; Mara Farcasanu; Laura E Avena; Manish C Choudhary; Virginia A Triant; Meaghan Flagg; Abigail E Schiff; Isabella Gomez; Leah M Froehle; Thomas J Diefenbach; Larance Ronsard; Daniel Lingwood; Grace C Lee; Seyed Alireza Rabi; Derek Erstad; George Velmahos; Jonathan Z Li; Richard Hodin; James R Stone; Anna N Honko; Anthony Griffiths; Ömer H Yilmaz; Douglas S Kwon

doi:10.1093/cid/ciab623

Fecal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) RNA Is Associated With Decreased Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Survival

Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 23;74(6):1081-1084. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab623.

Authors

Upasana Das Adhikari^{1

2}, George Eng^{2

3

4}, Mara Farcasanu^{1

2}, Laura E Avena⁵, Manish C Choudhary⁶, Virginia A Triant⁷, Meaghan Flagg¹, Abigail E Schiff^{1

2}, Isabella Gomez¹, Leah M Froehle¹, Thomas J Diefenbach¹, Larance Ronsard¹, Daniel Lingwood¹, Grace C Lee⁸, Seyed Alireza Rabi⁸, Derek Erstad⁸, George Velmahos⁸, Jonathan Z Li^{2

6}, Richard Hodin⁸, James R Stone^{2

3}, Anna N Honko⁵, Anthony Griffiths⁵, Ömer H Yilmaz^{2

3

4}, Douglas S Kwon^{1

2

7}

Affiliations

¹ Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
² Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁴ Koch Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
⁵ Department of Microbiology and National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁶ Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁷ Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁸ Division of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

The clinical significance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) RNA in stool remains uncertain. We found that extrapulmonary dissemination of infection to the gastrointestinal tract, assessed by the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool, is associated with decreased coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survival. Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool may have utility for clinical risk assessment.

Keywords: GI epithelium; RNA; SARS CoV-2; fecal; mortality; organoids; phylogenetics.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Feces
Gastrointestinal Tract
Humans
RNA, Viral
SARS-CoV-2* / genetics

Substances

RNA, Viral

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding