Feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen self-testing in school and summer camp attendees

doi:10.3389/fped.2022.975454

. 2023 Jan 10:10:975454.

doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.975454. eCollection 2022.

Feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen self-testing in school and summer camp attendees

Andreu Colom-Cadena^{1

2}, Héctor Martínez-Riveros^{1

2

3}, Anna Bordas^{1

2}, Lucia Alonso-García^{1

2}, Marcos Montoro-Fernández¹, Pol Romano-deGea^{1

2}, Josep Vidal-Alaball^{4

5

6}, Elisabet Solà-Segura⁷, Josep M Llibre⁸, Boris Revollo⁸, Jordi Casabona^{1

2

9

10}, Cristina Agustí^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ Centre of Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Ministry of Health, Government of Catalonia, Badalona, Spain.
² Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias I Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.
³ PhD in Methodology of Biomedical Research and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Preventive Medicine, Univ Autonòma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain.
⁴ Health Promotion in Rural Areas Research Group, Gerència Territorial de la Catalunya Central, Institut Català de la Salut, Sant Fruitós del Bages, Spain.
⁵ Unitat de Suport a la Recerca de la Catalunya Central, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol I Gurina, Sant Fruitós del Bages, Spain.
⁶ University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain.
⁷ Primary Heatlhcare Team Vic Nord, Institut Català de la Salut, Vic, Spain.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Foundation for Fighting AIDS, Infectious Diseases and Promoting Health and Science, University Hospital Germans Trias I Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
⁹ Departament de Pediatria, d'Obstetrícia I Ginecologia I de Medicina Preventiva I de Salut Publica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
¹⁰ Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 36741092
PMCID: PMC9891278
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.975454

Feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen self-testing in school and summer camp attendees

Andreu Colom-Cadena et al. Front Pediatr. 2023.

. 2023 Jan 10:10:975454.

doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.975454. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Centre of Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Ministry of Health, Government of Catalonia, Badalona, Spain.
² Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias I Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.
³ PhD in Methodology of Biomedical Research and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Preventive Medicine, Univ Autonòma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain.
⁴ Health Promotion in Rural Areas Research Group, Gerència Territorial de la Catalunya Central, Institut Català de la Salut, Sant Fruitós del Bages, Spain.
⁵ Unitat de Suport a la Recerca de la Catalunya Central, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol I Gurina, Sant Fruitós del Bages, Spain.
⁶ University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain.
⁷ Primary Heatlhcare Team Vic Nord, Institut Català de la Salut, Vic, Spain.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Foundation for Fighting AIDS, Infectious Diseases and Promoting Health and Science, University Hospital Germans Trias I Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
⁹ Departament de Pediatria, d'Obstetrícia I Ginecologia I de Medicina Preventiva I de Salut Publica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
¹⁰ Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 36741092
PMCID: PMC9891278
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.975454

Erratum in

Corrigendum: Feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen self-testing in school and summer camp attendees.
Colom-Cadena A, Martínez-Riveros H, Bordas A, Alonso-García L, Montoro-Fernández M, Romano-deGea P, Vidal-Alaball J, Solà-Segura E, Llibre JM, Revollo B, Casabona J, Agustí C. Colom-Cadena A, et al. Front Pediatr. 2024 Jan 5;11:1353806. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1353806. eCollection 2023. Front Pediatr. 2024. PMID: 38250593 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 screening is one of the pillars of non-pharmaceutical preventive strategies to early identify and isolate infected individuals and therefore decrease community incidence.

Methods: We assessed the feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 self-testing with antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests in attendees of educational settings.

Results: A total of 305 students (88.15%) and 41 staff (11.85%) from 9 to 56 years old participated in the self-testing procedure and answered the survey at the end of the study. 91.3% (n = 313) did not need help, 96.1% of participants reported the same outcome as the healthcare workers. 94.5% strongly or slightly agree with the statement "I would repeat the experience".

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that self-testing is acceptable and usable in children, adolescents and adults when the epidemiological situation may require a systematic screening of these populations, although supervision by health care or previously trained personnel is recommended for younger age groups.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing; acceptability and usability; school public health; self-testing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Summary of the total number of participants in the pilot study, Spain, N: 346. *Self-sampling: In school A, older pupils (15–16 years old) were trained beforehand to read the results of the other participants. ** Self-testing: In School B and summer camps, participants read the test result themselves, and the healthcare team validated the reliability.

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References

1. López-Bueno R, López-Sánchez GF, Casajús JA, Gil-Salmerón A, Grabovac I, Tully MA, et al. Health-Related behaviors among school aged children and adolescents during the spanish COVID-19 confinement. Front Pediatr. (2020) 8:573. 10.3389/fped.2020.00573 pmid: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3304291 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Vlachos J, Hertegård E, Svaleryd H B. The effects of school closures on SARS-CoV-2 among parents and teachers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2021) 118(9):e2020834118. 10.1073/pnas.2020834118 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Mina MJ, Andersen KG. COVID-19 testing: one size does not fit all. Science. (2021) 371(6525):126–7. 10.1126/science.abe9187 - DOI - PubMed
1. Lindner AK, Nikolai O, Kausch F, Wintel M, Hommes F, Gertler M, et al. Head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid test with self-collected nasal swab versus professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab. Eur Respir J. (2021) 57(4):2003961. 10.1183/13993003.03961-2020 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Hirst JA, Logan M, Fanshawe TR, Mwandigha L, Wanat M, Vicary C, et al. Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting. Open Forum Infect Dis. (2021) 8(12):ofab495. 10.1093/ofid/ofab495 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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[1] López-Bueno R, López-Sánchez GF, Casajús JA, Gil-Salmerón A, Grabovac I, Tully MA, et al. Health-Related behaviors among school aged children and adolescents during the spanish COVID-19 confinement. Front Pediatr. (2020) 8:573. 10.3389/fped.2020.00573 pmid: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3304291 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] López-Bueno R, López-Sánchez GF, Casajús JA, Gil-Salmerón A, Grabovac I, Tully MA, et al. Health-Related behaviors among school aged children and adolescents during the spanish COVID-19 confinement. Front Pediatr. (2020) 8:573. 10.3389/fped.2020.00573 pmid: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3304291 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Vlachos J, Hertegård E, Svaleryd H B. The effects of school closures on SARS-CoV-2 among parents and teachers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2021) 118(9):e2020834118. 10.1073/pnas.2020834118 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Vlachos J, Hertegård E, Svaleryd H B. The effects of school closures on SARS-CoV-2 among parents and teachers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2021) 118(9):e2020834118. 10.1073/pnas.2020834118 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Mina MJ, Andersen KG. COVID-19 testing: one size does not fit all. Science. (2021) 371(6525):126–7. 10.1126/science.abe9187 - DOI - PubMed

[6] Mina MJ, Andersen KG. COVID-19 testing: one size does not fit all. Science. (2021) 371(6525):126–7. 10.1126/science.abe9187 - DOI - PubMed

[7] Lindner AK, Nikolai O, Kausch F, Wintel M, Hommes F, Gertler M, et al. Head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid test with self-collected nasal swab versus professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab. Eur Respir J. (2021) 57(4):2003961. 10.1183/13993003.03961-2020 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Lindner AK, Nikolai O, Kausch F, Wintel M, Hommes F, Gertler M, et al. Head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid test with self-collected nasal swab versus professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab. Eur Respir J. (2021) 57(4):2003961. 10.1183/13993003.03961-2020 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Hirst JA, Logan M, Fanshawe TR, Mwandigha L, Wanat M, Vicary C, et al. Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting. Open Forum Infect Dis. (2021) 8(12):ofab495. 10.1093/ofid/ofab495 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Hirst JA, Logan M, Fanshawe TR, Mwandigha L, Wanat M, Vicary C, et al. Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting. Open Forum Infect Dis. (2021) 8(12):ofab495. 10.1093/ofid/ofab495 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen self-testing in school and summer camp attendees

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Feasibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen self-testing in school and summer camp attendees

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