Association of Cycle Threshold (Ct) Values of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR with Disease Severity and Symptoms among COVID-19 Patients in Ghadamis, Libya

Background: This study aimed to assess the relationship between cycle threshold (Ct) values and disease severity, symptoms, and comorbidities in COVID-19-positive individuals. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on COVID-19 patients who were admitted to General Ghadamis hospital and diagnosed with COVID-19 from August 2020 to 2021. The association between Ct values and symptoms, demographic characteristics, and clinical characteristics was analyzed by SPSS analysis. Findings: A total of 286 patients were included in this study, of whom 53.5% were female, and 46.5% were male, with a median age of 53 years (range: 1–90 years). Among symptomatic individuals, 51.4% had severe COVID-19 symptoms, and 26.6% had mild symptoms. Severe systemic symptoms were significantly associated with older age groups. The majority of elderly patients (66%) exhibited low Ct values (Ct ≤ 24), indicating a high viral load. Additionally, 64.6 and 40.8% of patients with severe and mild symptoms had low Ct values. Symptoms varied significantly across patients with low, medium, and high Ct values. There was a strong correlation between lower Ct values and the presence of comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular accident, and cancer. Conclusion: Compared to asymptomatic individuals, most symptomatic patients with severe and mild symptoms had significantly lower Ct values. These findings highlight the critical role of viral load in SARS-CoV-2 progression and suggest that Ct values could be used to predict the spread of infection in the community.