tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Tohoku J Exp Med
. 2021;253(2):101-108.
doi: 10.1620/tjem.253.101.
Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Positivity Based on RT-PCR Swab Tests at a Drive-Through Outpatient Clinic for COVID-19 Screening in Japan
Tadashi Ishii[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shigeki Kushimoto[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yukio Katori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shigeo Kure[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kaoru Igarashi[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Motoo Fujita[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Shin Takayama[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michiaki Abe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Junichi Tanaka[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Akiko Kikuchi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yoshiko Abe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hiroyuki Imai[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Yohei Inaba[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Yoko Iwamatsu-Kobayashi[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Takashi Nishioka[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Ko Onodera[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Tetsuya Akaishi[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 in 2020, we conducted drive-through nasopharyngeal swab testing for COVID-19 in Sendai city, Japan, since April 2020. All tested individuals were judged in advance by public health centers for the necessity of undergoing the test with possible contact history and/or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. In this study, to identify the predictors of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity for more efficient and evidenced selection of suspected individuals, we enrolled 3,540 consecutive individuals, tested in the first 7 months of the testing program, with data regarding to the history of close contact with COVID-19 patients, including those involved in cluster outbreaks. This cohort included 284 foreign students (257 males and 27 females) from a vocational school involved in the largest cluster outbreak in the area. Close contact history was present in 952 (26.9%) of the participants. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results showed that 164 participants (4.6%) were positive and 3,376 participants (95.4%) were negative for the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid gene (N2). In the univariate and multivariate analyses, history of close contact with COVID-19 patients, higher age, cough symptoms, and non-native ethnicity were predictors for SARS-CoV-2 test positivity. However, the significance of age and foreign nationality disappeared or declined upon excluding the foreign students from the aforementioned largest cluster outbreak. In conclusion, a history of close contact with COVID-19 patients and the presence of cough symptoms are significant predictors of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); drive-through; nasopharyngeal swab test; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
. 2021;253(2):101-108.
doi: 10.1620/tjem.253.101.
Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Positivity Based on RT-PCR Swab Tests at a Drive-Through Outpatient Clinic for COVID-19 Screening in Japan
Tadashi Ishii[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shigeki Kushimoto[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yukio Katori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shigeo Kure[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kaoru Igarashi[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Motoo Fujita[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Shin Takayama[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michiaki Abe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Junichi Tanaka[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Akiko Kikuchi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yoshiko Abe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hiroyuki Imai[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Yohei Inaba[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Yoko Iwamatsu-Kobayashi[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Takashi Nishioka[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Ko Onodera[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Tetsuya Akaishi[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33536379
- DOI: 10.1620/tjem.253.101
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 in 2020, we conducted drive-through nasopharyngeal swab testing for COVID-19 in Sendai city, Japan, since April 2020. All tested individuals were judged in advance by public health centers for the necessity of undergoing the test with possible contact history and/or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. In this study, to identify the predictors of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity for more efficient and evidenced selection of suspected individuals, we enrolled 3,540 consecutive individuals, tested in the first 7 months of the testing program, with data regarding to the history of close contact with COVID-19 patients, including those involved in cluster outbreaks. This cohort included 284 foreign students (257 males and 27 females) from a vocational school involved in the largest cluster outbreak in the area. Close contact history was present in 952 (26.9%) of the participants. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results showed that 164 participants (4.6%) were positive and 3,376 participants (95.4%) were negative for the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid gene (N2). In the univariate and multivariate analyses, history of close contact with COVID-19 patients, higher age, cough symptoms, and non-native ethnicity were predictors for SARS-CoV-2 test positivity. However, the significance of age and foreign nationality disappeared or declined upon excluding the foreign students from the aforementioned largest cluster outbreak. In conclusion, a history of close contact with COVID-19 patients and the presence of cough symptoms are significant predictors of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); drive-through; nasopharyngeal swab test; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).