The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused ever-increasing attention and public panic all over the world. Until now, data are limited about the risk factors to virus shedding in COVID-19 infected patients.

In this retrospective study, data were collected from 87 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection in Suzhou. Using Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the risk factors to COVID-19 RNA shedding was to be established according to demographic information, clinical characteristics, epidemiological history, antiviral medicine and corticosteroid administration.

The median duration of COVID-19 RNA shedding from admission was 13.11 ± 0.76 days. There was no significant difference in viral shedding duration in terms of gender, age, history of Hubei province stay, characteristics of chest CT on admission, lymphocytopenia and clinical severity. By Cox proportional hazards model, excessive 200 mg cumulative corticosteroid (HR, 3.425 [95% CI, 1.339–7.143]), time from illness onset to hospitalization (<5 days) (HR, 2.503 [95% CI, 1.433–4.371]) and arbidol-included therapy (HR, 2.073 [95% CI, 1.185–3.626]) were the independent risk factors to delay COVID-19 RNA shedding. Besides of excessive 200 mg of cumulative corticosteroid (HR, 2.825 [95% CI, 1.201–6.649]), admission within 5 days from illness onset (HR, 2.493 [95% CI, 1.393–4.462]) and arbidol-included therapy (HR, 2.102 [95% CI, 1.073–4.120]), lymphocytopenia (HR, 2.153 [95% CI, 1.097–4.225]) was further identified as another unfavorable factor to 10-day viral shedding.

The potential risk factors could help clinicians to identify patients with delayed viral shedding, thereby providing the rational strategy of treatment and optimal anti-viral interventions.