Use of PCR-Sars-CoV-2 in Children

The VIGIL study was set up at the beginning of the pandemic, in the spring of 2020, at a time when diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 had to be performed according to specific clinical criteria (even if no clinical picture suggestive of COVID had been clearly identified). The management of sick young children (with respiratory tract infection that could be attributed to COVID) by pediatricians (infectious diseases specialists, emergency physicians, general practitioners, and outpatients) was facilitated by an algorithm whose objective was to help define the indications for SARS-CoV-2 PCR and subsequently for antigenic testing. The current technique of deep nasopharyngeal swabbing (for PCR or antigenic testing) is delicate and difficult in children, and is therefore a serious handicap for community-based screening, especially since infectious episodes are frequent in children. Since then, nasal self-tests that can be easily used in children have been commercialized and have facilitated screening. Because of the similarity between the clinical signs of respiratory tract infections in children, it is often impossible to distinguish between different viral respiratory infections and epidemics may overlap in time. However, the identification of the pathogen is the key to improve management of these infectious diseases. The VIGIL study is therefore continuing, still facilitated by the existence of an active pediatric network existing for 20 years. ACTIV AFPA and GPIP have created networks of hospital and ambulatory pediatricians who actively participate in various observatories https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(17)31606-2/fulltext To date, these observatories have resulted in the publication of more than 80 articles in international journals (https://www.activ-france.com/fr/publications).