Measures of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity in pediatric culture-positive versus culture-negative samples
| Variable | No. (%) of culture-positive samples* n = 36 | No. (%) of culture-negative samples* n = 139 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr, median (IQR) | 10 (5–15) | 9 (5–14) | 0.6 |
| Asymptomatic | 15 (42) | 51 (37) | 0.9 |
| Male sex | 22 (61) | 80 (57) | 0.7 |
| Symptom to test time, median (IQR), d | 1 (0–2) | 2 (1–4) | 0.3 |
| Cycle threshold†, median (IQR) | 16.8 (16.3–18.8) | 25.8 (20.7–31.9) | < 0.001 |
| Log RNA copies/mL, median (IQR) | 8.1 (7.4–8.2) | 5.2 (3.2–6.8) | < 0.001 |
Note: IQR = interquartile range, RT-PCR = reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.
↵† Cycle threshold is a semiquantitative measure of how much genetic material is present in the initial sample. If more RT-PCR cycles are required to detect SARS-CoV-2, then less viral RNA was present in the sample.