Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 27 King's College Cir, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1, Canada.
Epidemics. 2022 Dec;41:100645. doi: 10.1016/j.epidem.2022.100645. Epub 2022 Oct 20.
Seroprevalence studies have been used throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor infection and immunity. These studies are often reported in peer-reviewed journals, but the academic writing and publishing process can delay reporting and thereby public health action. Seroprevalence estimates have been reported faster in preprints and media, but with concerns about data quality. We aimed to (i) describe the timeliness of SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance reporting by publication venue and study characteristics and (ii) identify relationships between timeliness, data validity, and representativeness to guide recommendations for serosurveillance efforts. We included seroprevalence studies published between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 from the ongoing SeroTracker living systematic review. For each study, we calculated timeliness as the time elapsed between the end of sampling and the first public report. We evaluated data validity based on serological test performance and correction for sampling error, and representativeness based on the use of a representative sample frame and adequate sample coverage. We examined how timeliness varied with study characteristics, representativeness, and data validity using univariate and multivariate Cox regression. We analyzed 1844 studies. Median time to publication was 154 days (IQR 64-255), varying by publication venue (journal articles: 212 days, preprints: 101 days, institutional reports: 18 days, and media: 12 days). Multivariate analysis confirmed the relationship between timeliness and publication venue and showed that general population studies were published faster than special population or health care worker studies; there was no relationship between timeliness and study geographic scope, geographic region, representativeness, or serological test performance. Seroprevalence studies in peer-reviewed articles and preprints are published slowly, highlighting the limitations of using the academic literature to report seroprevalence during a health crisis. More timely reporting of seroprevalence estimates can improve their usefulness for surveillance, enabling more effective responses during health emergencies.
血清流行率研究在整个 COVID-19 大流行期间被用于监测感染和免疫情况。这些研究通常在同行评议的期刊上报道，但学术写作和出版过程可能会延迟报告，从而影响公共卫生行动。血清流行率估计值在预印本和媒体上的报告速度更快，但数据质量存在问题。我们的目的是：(i) 按出版地点和研究特征描述 SARS-CoV-2 血清监测报告的及时性；(ii) 确定及时性、数据有效性和代表性之间的关系，以指导血清监测工作的建议。我们纳入了正在进行的 SeroTracker 系统综述中 2020 年 1 月 1 日至 2021 年 12 月 31 日期间发表的血清流行率研究。对于每项研究，我们计算了从采样结束到第一次公开报告之间的时间间隔，作为及时性。我们根据血清学检测性能和采样误差校正评估数据有效性，根据代表性样本框架和充足的样本覆盖率评估代表性。我们使用单变量和多变量 Cox 回归检查了及时性如何随研究特征、代表性和数据有效性而变化。我们分析了 1844 项研究。中位数的出版时间为 154 天（IQR 64-255），按出版地点而异（期刊文章：212 天，预印本：101 天，机构报告：18 天，媒体：12 天）。多变量分析证实了及时性与出版地点之间的关系，并表明一般人群研究的出版速度快于特殊人群或医护人员研究；及时性与研究地理范围、地理区域、代表性或血清学检测性能之间没有关系。同行评议文章和预印本中的血清流行率研究出版速度较慢，突出了在卫生危机期间使用学术文献报告血清流行率的局限性。更及时地报告血清流行率估计值可以提高其在监测中的有用性，从而在卫生紧急情况下更有效地做出反应。
