Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing Trends Among Persons Aged <18 Years in an Outpatient Pediatric Practice — Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, May–December 2020

Miller, Maureen J.; Dasgupta, Sharoda; Ruffin, Jasmine; Colton, Kevin; King, David; Tate, Jacqueline E.; Kirking, Hannah L.; Bryant, Bobbi; Hennesy, Nora; Plata, Zuwena; Nakayama, Jasmine Y.; Tanner, Mary R.; Koyuncu, Aybüke; Rabold, Elizabeth

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing Trends Among Persons Aged <18 Years in an Outpatient Pediatric Practice — Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, May–December 2020

Supporting Files Public Domain

July 2021
By Miller, Maureen J. ; Dasgupta, Sharoda ; Ruffin, Jasmine ; ...

File Language:

English

Details

Alternative Title:

J Adolesc Health
Personal Author:

Miller, Maureen J. ; Dasgupta, Sharoda ; Ruffin, Jasmine ; Colton, Kevin ; King, David ; Tate, Jacqueline E. ; Kirking, Hannah L. ; Bryant, Bobbi ; Hennesy, Nora ; Plata, Zuwena ; Nakayama, Jasmine Y. ; Tanner, Mary R. ; Koyuncu, Aybüke ; Rabold, Elizabeth
Description:

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to analyze trends in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing and test positivity among persons aged <18 years in a three-site outpatient pediatric practice in Atlanta, Georgia, serving approximately 35,000 pediatric patients.

Methods

Using electronic medical records, weekly trends in SARS-CoV-2 tests performed and the 14-day moving average of test positivity were examined, overall and by age group, during May 24–December 5, 2020.

Results

Among 4,995 patients who received at least 1 SARS-CoV-2 test, 6,813 total tests were completed. Overall test positivity was 5.4% and was higher among older pediatric patients (<5 years: 3.3%; 5–11 years: 4.1%; 12–17 years: 8.6%). The number of tests and test positivity increased after holidays and school breaks.

Conclusions

Families might benefit from communication focused on reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission during holidays. In addition, given higher test positivity in children aged 12–17 years, tailoring public health messaging to older adolescents could help limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk in this population.
Subjects:

Adolescent Child Coronavirus Infections COVID-19 Testing Humans Outpatients SARS-CoV-2
Source:

J Adolesc Health. 69(1):144-148
Pubmed ID:

34172138
Pubmed Central ID:

PMC8219291
Document Type:

Journal Article
Place as Subject:

Atlanta, GA
Volume:

69
Issue:

1
Collection(s):

CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:ae8ee68520df8ed986f9e26f436d82af61c67c1bc66833b46c4dc09fb2a94c1d
Download URL:

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/107917/cdc_107917_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 814.91 KB ]

File Language:

English

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