COVID-19 in immunocompromised children: comparison of SARS-CoV-2 viral load dynamics between the first and third waves

SARS-CoV-2 dynamics across different COVID-19 waves has been unclear in immunocompromised children. We aimed to compare the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 RNA viral load (VL) during the first and third waves of COVID-19 in immunocompromised children. A retrospective and longitudinal cohort study was conducted in a pediatric referral hospital of Argentina. The study included 28 admitted immunocompromised children with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thirteen acquired the infection during COVID-19 first wave (May to August 2020, group 1 (G1)) and fifteen in the third wave (January to March 2022, group 2 (G2)). RNA viral load measure and its dynamic reconstruction were performed in nasopharyngeal swabs by validated quantitative, real time RT-PCR, and linear mixed-effects model, respectively. Of the 28 children included, 54% were girls, most of them had hemato-oncological pathology (57%), and the median age was 8 years (interquartile range (IQR): 3–13). The dynamic of VL was similar in both groups (P = 0.148), starting from a level of 5.34 log(10) copies/mL (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.47–6.21) in G1 and 5.79 log(10) copies/mL (95% CI: 4.93–6.65) in G2. Then, VL decayed with a rate of 0.059 (95% CI: 0.038–0.080) and 0.088 (95% CI: 0.058–0.118) log(10) copies/mL per day since diagnosis and fell below the limit of quantification at days 51 and 39 after diagnosis in G1 and G2, respectively. Our results evidenced a longer viral RNA persistence in immunocompromised pediatric patients and no difference in VL dynamic between COVID-19 first wave—attributed to ancestral infections—and third wave—attributed to Omicron infections.