Effectiveness of thermal screening in detection of COVID-19 among truck drivers at Mutukula Land Point of Entry, Uganda

Autor: Simeon Kalyesubula-Kibuuka, Bernard S. Bagaya, Joel Kabugo, Francis Ocen, Christopher Okiira, Willy Ssengooba, Robert Kaos Majwala, Abdunoor Nyombi, Ivan Ibanda, Dennis Mujuni, Andrew Nsawotebba, Susan Nabadda, Isaac Ssewanyana, Atek Kagirita, Patrick Ogwok, Didas Tugumisirize
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Male
RNA viruses
Viral Diseases
Cross-sectional study
Physiology
Epidemiology
Coronaviruses
Fevers
Body Temperature
0302 clinical medicine
Medical Conditions
Interquartile range
Positive predicative value
Medicine and Health Sciences
Medicine
Mass Screening
Uganda
030212 general & internal medicine
Pathology and laboratory medicine
Virus Testing
Multidisciplinary
030504 nursing
Middle Aged
Medical microbiology
Infectious Diseases
Physiological Parameters
Predictive value of tests
Viruses
Population study
Engineering and Technology
Median body
Female
SARS CoV 2
Pathogens
0305 other medical science
Research Article
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty
SARS coronavirus
Thermometers
Science
Equipment
Microbiology
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
Signs and Symptoms
Predictive Value of Tests
Diagnostic Medicine
Internal medicine
Humans
Pandemics
Mass screening
Measurement Equipment
Retrospective Studies
SARS
business.industry
SARS-CoV-2
Organisms
Viral pathogens
COVID-19
Biology and Life Sciences
Covid 19
Gold standard (test)
Microbial pathogens
Cross-Sectional Studies
Clinical Medicine
business
Zdroj: PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 5, p e0251150 (2021)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Introduction Despite the limited evidence for its effectiveness, thermal screening at points of entry has increasingly become a standard protocol in numerous parts of the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to determine the effectiveness of thermal screening as a key step in diagnosing COVID-19 in a resource-limited setting. Materials and methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional study based on a review of body temperature and Xpert Xpress SARS CoV-2 test results records for truck drivers entering Uganda through Mutukula between 15th May and 30th July 2020. All records missing information for body temperature, age, gender, and Xpert Xpress SARS CoV-2 status were excluded from the data set. A data set of 7,181 entries was used to compare thermal screening and Xpert Xpress SARS CoV-2 assay test results using the diagnostic statistical test in STATAv15 software. The prevalence of COVID-19 amongst the truck drivers based on Xpert Xpress SARS CoV-2 assay results was determined. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive and negative Likelihood ratios were obtained using Xpert Xpress SARS CoV-2 assay as the gold standard. Results Based on our gold standard test, the proportion of persons that tested positive for COVID-19 was 6.7% (95% CI: 6.1–7.3). Of the 7,181 persons that were thermally screened, 6,844 (95.3%) were male. The sample median age was 38 years (interquartile range, IQR: 31–45 years). The median body temperature was 36.5°C (IQR: 36.3–36.7) and only n (1.2%) had a body temperature above 37.5°C. The sensitivity and specificity of thermal screening were 9.9% (95% CI: 7.4–13.0) and 99.5% (95% CI: 99.3–99.6) respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 57.8 (95% CI: 46.5–68.6) and 93.9 (95% CI: 93.3–94.4) respectively. The positive and negative Likelihood Ratios (LRs) were 19 (95% CI: 12.4–29.1) and 0.9 (95% CI: 0.88–0.93) respectively. Conclusion In this study population, the use of Thermal screening alone is ineffective in the detection of potential COVID-19 cases at point of entry. We recommend a combination of screening tests or additional testing using highly sensitive molecular diagnostics such as Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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