Is Symptom Screening Useful for Identifying COVID-19 Infection in School Settings? Georgia, USA.
J Sch Nurs
; 37(6): 503-512, 2021 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1455889
ABSTRACT
This study's goal was to characterize the utility of symptom screening in staff and students for COVID-19 identification and control of transmission in a school setting. We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data for staff, students and associated household members in a Georgia school district exposed to COVID-19 cases who received RT-PCR testing and symptom monitoring. Among positive contacts, 30/49 (61%) of students and 1/6 (17%) of staff reported no symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Symptom sensitivity was 30% in elementary students and 42% in middle/high students. Fifty-three percent (10/19) of symptomatic positive contacts had at least one household member test positive for SARS-CoV-2 compared with 50% (10/20) of asymptomatic positive contacts. The absence of symptoms in children is not indicative of a lack of SARS-CoV-2 infection or reduced risk of infection for associated household members. Testing all close contacts of people with COVID-19 in schools is needed to interrupt transmission networks.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Sch Nurs
Journal subject:
Nursing
/
Health Services
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
10598405211050393
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