Background: The proportion of recurrences after discharge among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported to be between 9.1% and 31.0%. Little is known about this issue, however, so we performed a meta-analysis to summarize the demographical, clinical, and laboratorial characteristics of non-recurrence and recurrence groups.
Methods: Comprehensive searches were conducted using eight electronic databases. Data regarding the demographic, clinical, and laboratorial characteristics of both recurrence and non-recurrence groups were extracted, and quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted.
Results: Ten studies involving 2071 COVID-19 cases were included in this analysis. The proportion of recurrence cases involving patients with COVID-19 was 17.65% (between 12.38% and 25.16%) while older patients were more likely to experience recurrence (weighted mean difference (WMD)=1.67, range between 0.08 and 3.26). The time from discharge to recurrence was 13.38 d (between 12.08 and 14.69 d). Patients were categorized as having moderate severity (odds ratio (OR)=2.69, range between 1.30 and 5.58), while those with clinical symptoms including cough (OR=5.52, range between 3.18 and 9.60), sputum production (OR=5.10, range between 2.60 and 9.97), headache (OR=3.57, range between 1.36 and 9.35), and dizziness (OR=3.17, range between 1.12 and 8.96) were more likely to be associated with recurrence. Patients presenting with bilateral pulmonary infiltration and decreased leucocyte, platelet, and CD4+ T counts were at risk of COVID-19 recurrence (OR=1.71, range between 1.07 and 2.75; WMD=-1.06, range between -1.55 and -0.57, WMD=-40.39, range between -80.20 and -0.48, and WMD=-55.26, range between -105.92 and -4.60, respectively).
Conclusions: The main factors associated with the recurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after hospital discharge were older age, moderate severity, bilateral pulmonary infiltration, laboratory findings including decreased leucocytes, platelets, and CD4+ T counts, and clinical symptoms including cough, sputum production, headache, and dizziness. These factors can be considered warning indicators for the recurrence of SARS-CoV-2 and might help the development of specific management strategies.
Keywords: Recurrence case; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Risk factor; Meta-analysis.