Visits for Possible COVID-19 in a Pediatric Primary Care Practice Early in the Pandemic.

Riese, Alison; Kelly, Jessica M; Chu, Tzu-Chun; Heinly, Allison; Kamath, Shuba; Golova, Natalia; Watts, Delma-Jean

BACKGROUND Children with COVID-19 usually present with mild symptoms. We characterize visits with respect to symptoms and testing in the outpatient setting. METHODS A retrospective chart review of sick visits in a pediatric academic primary care clinic April-August 2020. We included possible COVID-19 cases, or "persons under investigation" (PUIs), recording symptoms, positive contacts, and COVID-19 testing. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests for comparisons were used. RESULTS 32% (476/1,474) of sick visits were PUIs; 20% were telehealth. Symptoms most commonly reported were fever, congestion/rhinorrhea and cough. 76% of PUIs were tested for COVID-19. Only presence of COVID-19 contacts and loss of taste/smell were significantly associated with positive tests (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Nearly a third of sick visits in an academic pediatric practice were seen for possible COVID-19 symptoms and most were tested. The majority with and without COVID-19 had fever, congestion and/or cough. Our findings suggest low thresholds for testing in children.