Clinical Screening for COVID-19 in Asymptomatic Patients With Cancer

Shah, Manish A.; Mayer, Sebastian; Emlen, Francie; Sholle, Evan; Christos, Paul J.; Cushing, Melissa M.; Hidalgo, Manuel

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.23121

Cited by 21 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(9 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The true burden of asymptomatic pediatric cases is still unknown, and several factors contribute to this problem, such as the age limits at certain testing centers and the discomfort associated with the swab. 23,24 The rate of positivity of 2.3% observed in our cohort was higher than the 0.6% through 0.9% described in oncological pediatric patients 9,11 and closer to the 2.2% reported in surgical pediatric patients. 10 In comparison, our estimates were higher than the pooled prevalence of 0.65% reported by Sola and colleagues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…The positivity rate described in our article is relatively low but within the range described in pediatric cohorts with medical conditions at large academic centers. [9][10][11]14 The incidence of COVID-19 that would justify the use of PCR screening in a dental practice has not been established. It has been proposed that mass testing with the goal of identifying asymptomatic carriers may be a necessary and effective strategy to limit the spread of the disease.…”

Section: Girls Boysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…cohorts. [9][10][11][12][13] Most of these studies included adults only. Three studies that tested asymptomatic surgical and oncological pediatric patients via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reported positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 from 0.6% through 2.5%.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three studies that tested asymptomatic surgical and oncological pediatric patients via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reported positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 from 0.6% through 2.5%. [9][10][11] In addition, a study including 33,041 asymptomatic children tested in different US hospitals reported a pooled prevalence of 0.7%. 14 Although children typically have a benign course compared with adults or remain asymptomatic, they have the potential to carry substantial viral loads and be a source of infection.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in asymptomatic pediatric dental patients

Lamberghini¹,

Trifan²,

Testai³

2021

The Journal of the American Dental Association

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. Children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are typically asymptomatic but contagious. The authors investigated the positivity rate of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric dental patients.Methods. The authors reviewed consecutive charts of children younger than 18 years scheduled for elective dental procedures from April 1, 2020, through August 1, 2020. All patients were screened for signs and symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Asymptomatic patients scheduled for dental procedures underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2. Sociodemographic characteristics were abstracted, and positivity rates were calculated. Variables for patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive and SARS-CoV-2 negative were compared using Fisher exact and Mann-Whitney U tests.Results. The sample size was 921. The median age was 6 years, and 50.9% were boys. The overall SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate was 2.3%. Age, insurance status, medical history, and dental diagnosis were comparable in patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive and SARS-CoV-2 negative. Positivity rates were statistically higher for Hispanic or Latinx patients than other groups (P ¼ .038).Conclusions. Although the yield of testing was low, the systematic evaluation of asymptomatic pediatric dental cases via PCR resulted in the identification of SARS-CoV-2 carriers who could have been infectious. In this study, Hispanics or Latinx had a higher positivity rate than other demographic groups.Practical Implications. PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 of asymptomatic patients in pediatric dentistry adds value to the use of screening questionnaires for the identification of infected people who could be contagious.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Section: Girls Boysmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in asymptomatic pediatric dental patients

Lamberghini¹,

Trifan²,

Testai³

2021

The Journal of the American Dental Association

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It should be noticed that although this result came from the region with a high number of cases, New York, PCR test positivity rate was very low among asymptomatic cancer patients. 6 In addition, Yin et al. showed that the asymptomatic infection rate in cancer patients from Wuhan was 2.9% (81 out of 2818).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Commentary: Should all cancer patients be tested for COVID-19 before each chemotherapy cycle?

Yekedüz

Utkan

Ürün

2021

J Oncol Pharm Pract

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cancer patients under active chemotherapy are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). There are still some controversies regarding routine polymerase chain reaction testing of asymptomatic cancer patients before chemotherapy cycles. Despite a lack of data, Al-Shamsi et al. showed higher COVID-19 positivity rate among asymptomatic cancer patients. Furthermore, mortality rate was higher in this group of patients. There is no high evidence-based recommendation from the cancer societies for testing asymptomatic patients before each chemotherapy cycle. In this commentary, we assessed the current publications and guidelines regarding this issue.

show abstract

Asymptomatic detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 among cancer patients receiving infusional anti‐cancer therapy

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Little is known regarding the rate and clinical outcomes of asymptomatic carriers of SARS‐CoV‐2 among patients with cancer. Detection of asymptomatic carriers is important in this population given the use of myelosuppressive and immunomodulating therapies. Understanding the asymptomatic carrier rate will help to develop mitigation strategies in this high‐risk cohort. Methods Retrospective cohort analysis of an asymptomatic screening protocol which required patients receiving infusional anti‐cancer therapy to undergo a symptom/exposure screen and SARS‐CoV‐2 PCR testing 24–96 h prior to their infusion. The primary outcome of this analysis was the rate of asymptomatic SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Secondary outcomes included the rate of COVID‐19‐related hospitalization and mortality and delays in oncologic therapy. Results Among a cohort of 2691 cancer patients who underwent asymptomatic screening, 1.6% ( N = 43/2691) of patients were found to be SARS‐CoV‐2 positive on asymptomatic screening. 11.6% ( N = 5/43) of the cohort ultimately developed COVID‐19‐related symptoms. Four patients required hospitalization for complications of COVID‐19 infection. No patient died from COVID‐related complications. 97.7% ( N = 42/43) had their anti‐cancer therapy delayed or deferred with a median delay of 21 days (range: 7–77 days). Conclusions Overall, among a cohort of active cancer patients receiving anti‐cancer therapy, an asymptomatic SARS‐CoV2 PCR‐based screening protocol detected a small cohort of asymptomatic carriers. The majority of these patients remained asymptomatic on long‐term follow‐up and outcomes were much more favorable compared to previously described outcomes of cancer patients with symptomatic COVID‐19 infection.

show abstract

Clinical Screening for COVID-19 in Asymptomatic Patients With Cancer

Cited by 21 publications

References 6 publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in asymptomatic pediatric dental patients

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in asymptomatic pediatric dental patients

Commentary: Should all cancer patients be tested for COVID-19 before each chemotherapy cycle?

Asymptomatic detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 among cancer patients receiving infusional anti‐cancer therapy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About