Utility of illness symptoms for predicting COVID-19 infections in children.
BMC Pediatr
; 22(1): 655, 2022 11 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2118125
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that symptomatic children remain home and get tested to identify potential coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. As the pandemic moves into a new phase, approaches to differentiate symptoms of COVID-19 versus other childhood infections can inform exclusion policies and potentially prevent future unnecessary missed school days.METHODS:
Retrospective analysis of standardized symptom and exposure screens in symptomatic children 0-18 years tested for SARS-CoV-2 at three outpatient sites April to November 2020. Likelihood ratios (LR), number needed to screen to identify one COVID-19 case, and estimated missed school days were calculated.RESULTS:
Of children studied (N = 2,167), 88.9% tested negative. Self-reported exposure to COVID-19 was the only factor that statistically significantly increased the likelihood of a positive test for all ages (Positive LR, 5-18 year olds 5.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.37-6.33; 0-4 year olds 5.87, 95% CI 4.67-7.38). Across ages 0-18, nasal congestion/rhinorrhea, sore throat, abdominal pain, and nausea/vomiting/diarrhea were commonly reported, and were either not associated or had decreased association with testing positive for COVID-19. The number of school days missed to identify one case of COVID-19 ranged from 19 to 48 across those common symptoms.CONCLUSIONS:
We present an approach for identifying symptoms that are non-specific to COVID-19, for which exclusion would likely lead to limited impact on school safety but contribute to school-days missed. As variants and symptoms evolve, students and schools could benefit from reconsideration of exclusion and testing policies for non-specific symptoms, while maintaining testing for those who were exposed.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Infant, Newborn
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Pediatr
Journal subject:
Pediatrics
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12887-022-03729-w
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