Epidemiological burden of parents being the index cases of COVID-19 infected children

• 作者: Sumanta Saha Sujata Saha
• 来源期刊: 世界方法学杂志
• 学科: 文学
• 关键词: COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 Index case epidemiology Patient zero epidemiology PEDIATRICS
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（1）
• 页码范围: 1-14
• 页数: 14页
• 分类号: H31

摘要

BACKGROUND In the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,when children remain home-confined secondary to the closure of schools,little is known of the burden of the parents being their index case.AIM To determine the prevalence of parents being the index case of COVID-19 infected children.METHODS A database search in PubMed and Scopus ensued to recruit studies reporting the index case information of COVID-19 infected individuals aged≤18.The reviewed articles'quality evaluation included the use of the National Heart,Lung,and Blood Institute's tool.A random-effect meta-analysis ensued to determine the prevalence of the parent being and not-being the index case.Heterogeneity was assessed by I2 and Chi2 statistics.The publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots and Egger’s test.RESULTS Overall,this review included 13 eligible studies sourcing data from 622 children of 33 nations.Study designs were heterogeneous and primarily included descriptive reports(38.4%).The prevalence of parent being the index case was 54%(95%CI:0.29-0.79;I2:62.3%,Chi2 P<0.001).In>70%of children,their indexcase parent was symptomatic due to COVID-19 at the time of infection transmitting.Studies for which a risk of bias assessment was possible were of fair quality.CONCLUSION There is a substantial global burden of parents being the index case of COVID-19 infected children,and frequently these parents are symptomatic.Therefore,from a public health perspective,early detection of these parents is crucial.