Day-by-Day Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Cycle Threshold Values in Outpatient Care: Associations with Symptom Onset and Fever Severity
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Participants
2.2. Data Collection and Variable Definitions
2.3. RT-PCR Testing Procedures
2.4. Statistical Analysis
2.5. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
3.1. Patient Characteristics
3.2. Ct Values According to Days Since Symptom Onset
3.3. Ct Values by Body Temperature Category on the Day of Symptom Onset
3.4. Body Temperature Category and Vaccination Status
3.5. Factors Associated with Ct Values
3.6. Factors Associated with Body Temperature Category
4. Discussion
Supplementary Materials
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| (A) | ||||||||
| Age Group | Female | Male | Total | |||||
| 0s | 18 | 30 | 48 | |||||
| 10s | 97 | 91 | 188 | |||||
| 20s | 93 | 96 | 189 | |||||
| 30s | 78 | 67 | 145 | |||||
| 40s | 101 | 63 | 164 | |||||
| 50s | 64 | 39 | 103 | |||||
| 60s | 21 | 15 | 36 | |||||
| 70s | 14 | 10 | 24 | |||||
| 80s | 6 | 2 | 8 | |||||
| 90s | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| (B) | ||||||||
| Age Group | Sex | 0 Doses | 1 Dose | 2 Doses | 3 Doses | 4 Doses | 5 Doses | Unknown |
| 0s | Female | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0s | Male | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10s | Female | 63 | 0 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10s | Male | 51 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20s | Female | 28 | 2 | 45 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 20s | Male | 42 | 0 | 38 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30s | Female | 18 | 2 | 40 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 30s | Male | 20 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 40s | Female | 31 | 0 | 42 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 40s | Male | 17 | 0 | 32 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 50s | Female | 11 | 0 | 25 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 50s | Male | 8 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 60s | Female | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 60s | Male | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 70s | Female | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 70s | Male | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 80s | Female | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 80s | Male | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 90s | Female | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Variable | β (95% CI) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|
| days since symptom onset | 0.683 (0.457 to 0.909) | p < 0.001 |
| body temperature category | −0.348 (−0.636 to −0.060) | p = 0.018 |
| male sex | −1.153 (−1.705 to −0.601) | p < 0.001 |
| age group (per decade) | −0.040 (−0.060 to −0.021) | p < 0.001 |
| vaccine doses | −0.078 (−0.317 to 0.162) | p = 0.524 |
| comorbidity | −0.620 (−1.441 to 0.201) | p = 0.139 |
| Variable | β (95% CI) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|
| days since symptom onset | −0.023 (−0.076 to 0.030) | p = 0.391 |
| Ct | −0.018 (−0.033 to −0.003) | p = 0.018 |
| male sex | 0.092 (−0.034 to 0.219) | p = 0.153 |
| age group (per decade) | −0.011 (−0.016 to −0.007) | p < 0.001 |
| vaccine doses | −0.060 (−0.115 to −0.006) | p = 0.030 |
| comorbidity | −0.008 (−0.195 to 0.180) | p = 0.936 |
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© 2026 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
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Yoshika, M. Day-by-Day Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Cycle Threshold Values in Outpatient Care: Associations with Symptom Onset and Fever Severity. Diagnostics 2026, 16, 1118. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16081118
Yoshika M. Day-by-Day Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Cycle Threshold Values in Outpatient Care: Associations with Symptom Onset and Fever Severity. Diagnostics. 2026; 16(8):1118. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16081118
Chicago/Turabian StyleYoshika, Masamichi. 2026. "Day-by-Day Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Cycle Threshold Values in Outpatient Care: Associations with Symptom Onset and Fever Severity" Diagnostics 16, no. 8: 1118. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16081118
APA StyleYoshika, M. (2026). Day-by-Day Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Cycle Threshold Values in Outpatient Care: Associations with Symptom Onset and Fever Severity. Diagnostics, 16(8), 1118. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16081118

