Association of Cycle Threshold (Ct) Values of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR with Disease Severity and Symptoms among COVID-19 Patients in Ghadamis, Libya
نویسندگان
1 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Benghazi, Libya.
2 Department Tissue culture plant at Libya Center for Biotechnology Research, Tripoli, Libya.
3 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Manouba, LR16AGR01, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Ariana, Tunisia.
4 Department of Medical Technology, College of Science and Technology - Qaminis, Benghazi, Libya
5 Head of internal medical department in Ghadamis general hospital, Libya.
6 National Center of Disease Control (NCDC) Ghadmes, Libya
7 Department of Environment food, and Biological Application, at Libya Center for Biotechnology Research, Tripoli, Libya.
doi
10.61186/iem.10.4.309چکیده
Background: This study aimed to assess the relationship between cycle threshold (Ct) values and disease severity, symptoms, and comorbidities in COVID-19-positive individuals. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on COVID-19 patients who were admitted to General Ghadamis hospital and diagnosed with COVID-19 from August 2020 to 2021. The association between Ct values and symptoms, demographic characteristics, and clinical characteristics was analyzed by SPSS analysis. Findings: A total of 286 patients were included in this study, of whom 53.5% were female, and 46.5% were male, with a median age of 53 years (range: 1–90 years). Among symptomatic individuals, 51.4% had severe COVID-19 symptoms, and 26.6% had mild symptoms. Severe systemic symptoms were significantly associated with older age groups. The majority of elderly patients (66%) exhibited low Ct values (Ct ≤ 24), indicating a high viral load. Additionally, 64.6 and 40.8% of patients with severe and mild symptoms had low Ct values. Symptoms varied significantly across patients with low, medium, and high Ct values. There was a strong correlation between lower Ct values and the presence of comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular accident, and cancer. Conclusion: Compared to asymptomatic individuals, most symptomatic patients with severe and mild symptoms had significantly lower Ct values. These findings highlight the critical role of viral load in SARS-CoV-2 progression and suggest that Ct values could be used to predict the spread of infection in the community.
