PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Despite the plethora of publications discussing the severe respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), evidence of viral secretion in urine is sparse. RECENT FINDINGS: We could identify 34 publications including a total of 2172 patients. Among those, 549 patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 secretion in urine, which was detected in only 38 patients (6.9%). Within the seven studies displaying positive results, the majority of positive patients (86.8%) was from not yet peer-reviewed studies including weak data and heterogeneous techniques for sample testing. Furthermore, none of the studies available in the literature addressed the virulence of detected viral RNA in urine. SUMMARY: Overall, only seven studies were able to detect SARS-CoV-2 secretion in urine, all of them with a considerably low rate of positivity. However, these studies were of rather low quality considering their methodology. Despite this, as SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in urine, it is of importance to discuss safety and urinary hygiene protocols. Until further research provides valid data on viral shedding and virulence in urine, potential risk of transmission through urine cannot be ruled out. Therefore, safety and hygiene measures need to be discussed.

Department of Urology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Urology CHRU Tours Francois Rabelais University Tours France

Department of Urology Clinique Pasteur Toulouse France

Department of Urology Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Urology University of Jordan Amman Jordan

Department of Urology University of Texas Southwestern Dallas Texas USA

Departments of Urology Weill Cornell Medical College New York New York

European Association of Urology Research Foundation Arnhem the Netherlands

Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health 1 M Sechenov 1st Moscow State Medical University Moscow Russia

Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology Vienna Austria

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