Department of Paediatrics, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India.
Department of Virology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India.
Indian J Med Res. 2022 May-Jun;155(5&6):491-495. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_2557_21.
This retrospective analysis was done to ascertain the SARS-CoV-2-positivity rate in children (0-12 yr) with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and compare it to those without SARI to determine the need for running a dedicated SARI isolation facility for paediatric COVID-19 care. The case records of 8780 children (0-12 yr) admitted and/or tested for SARS-CoV-2 between June 2020 and May 2021 at a tertiary care centre in north India were analyzed. The overall SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription (RT)-PCR positivity rate was 3.0 per cent (262/8780). There were 1155 (13.15%) children with SARI. Fifty of these 1155 (4.3%) children with SARI, as against 212 of the 7625 (2.8%) children without SARI, tested positive for COVID-19. The absolute difference in the positivity rate among SARI and non-SARI groups was only 1.54 per cent which translates to cohorting and isolating 65 children with SARI to pick up one extra SARS-CoV-2-positive child (compared to those without SARI). The positive predictive value of SARI as a screening test was 4.3 per cent. Our findings suggest that isolation of children with SARI as a transmission-prevention strategy for COVID-19 may not be required. This is particularly relevant in resource-limited settings.
本回顾性分析旨在确定患有严重急性呼吸道感染（SARI）的儿童（0-12 岁）中 SARS-CoV-2 的阳性率，并将其与无 SARI 的儿童进行比较，以确定是否需要为儿科 COVID-19 护理设立专门的 SARI 隔离设施。分析了 2020 年 6 月至 2021 年 5 月期间在印度北部一家三级保健中心住院和/或接受 SARS-CoV-2 检测的 8780 名儿童（0-12 岁）的病例记录。总体 SARS-CoV-2 逆转录（RT）-PCR 阳性率为 3.0%（262/8780）。有 1155 名（13.15%）儿童患有 SARI。在这 1155 名患有 SARI 的儿童中，有 50 名（4.3%）COVID-19 检测呈阳性，而在 7625 名无 SARI 的儿童中，有 212 名（2.8%）COVID-19 检测呈阳性。SARI 和非 SARI 组之间的阳性率差异仅为 1.54%，这意味着要对 65 名患有 SARI 的儿童进行分组和隔离，才能多发现一名 SARS-CoV-2 阳性儿童（与无 SARI 的儿童相比）。SARI 作为筛查试验的阳性预测值为 4.3%。我们的研究结果表明，作为 COVID-19 传播预防策略，对患有 SARI 的儿童进行隔离可能不是必需的。这在资源有限的环境中尤为重要。
