ABSTRACT
The first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was recorded on February 27, 2020, being an imported case by an Italian expatriate, to the country. Since then, there has been steady increase in the number of cases. However, the number of cases in Nigeria is low in comparison to cases reported by other countries with similar large populations, despite the poor health system prevailing in the country. This has been mainly attributed to the low testing capacity in Nigeria among other factors. Therefore, there is a need for innovative ways to increase the number of persons testing for COVID-19. The aim of the study was to pilot a nasopharyngeal swab self-sample collection model that would help increase COVID-19 testing while ensuring minimal person-to-person contact being experienced at the testing center. 216 participants took part in this study which was carried out at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research between June and July 2020. Amongst the 216 participants, 174 tested negatives for both self-collected samples and samples collected by Professionals, 30 tested positive for both arms, with discrepancies occurring in 6 samples where the self-collected samples were positive while the ones collected by the professionals were negative. The same occurred in another set of 6 samples with the self-collected samples being negative and the professional-collected sample coming out positive, with a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 96.7%. The results of the interrater analysis are Kappa = 0.800 (95% CI, 0.690 to 0.910) which implies an outstanding agreement between the two COVID-19 sampling methods. Furthermore, since p< 0.001 Kappa (k) coefficient is statistically different from zero, our findings have shown that self-collected samples can be reliable in the diagnosis of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Testing/methods , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/prevention & control , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Telemedicine/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , COVID-19 Testing/statistics & numerical data , Diagnostic Tests, Routine , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nigeria/epidemiology , Remote Consultation/methods , Reproducibility of Results , SARS-CoV-2 , Sensitivity and Specificity , Specimen Handling/methods , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence and clinical features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among children (≤18 years) evaluated for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection at a testing centre in Lagos, Nigeria. Methodology. This was a retrospective study. Data on the sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and SARS-CoV-2 results of participants at a modified drive-through centre for COVID-19 test sample collection over four months were retrieved from the electronic medical records (EMR). Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: A total of 307 children (≤18 years) were evaluated in this review. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the paediatric population was 16.3%. The median age (interquartile range (IQR)) was 9 (4-14) years. Common symptoms reported by the positive cases were fever (40.0%), cough (32.9%), sore throat (17.1%), and runny nose (15.7%). The majority of the positive cases had mild symptoms. Fever and sore throat were associated with the positive cases. CONCLUSION: Fever and sore throat were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among our cohort which buttresses the need for a high level of suspicion and clinical acumen in the management of common febrile diseases in paediatric settings.