Pediatric biorepository participation during the COVID-19 pandemic: predictors of enrollment and biospecimen donation

Anne M Neilan; Anisha Tyagi; Yao Tong; Eva J Farkas; Madeleine D Burns; Allison Fialkowski; Grace Park; Margot Hardcastle; Elizabeth Gootkind; Ingrid V Bassett; Fatma M Shebl; Lael M Yonker

doi:10.1186/s12887-022-03185-6

Pediatric biorepository participation during the COVID-19 pandemic: predictors of enrollment and biospecimen donation

BMC Pediatr. 2022 Mar 12;22(1):130. doi: 10.1186/s12887-022-03185-6.

Authors

Anne M Neilan^{1

2

3

4}, Anisha Tyagi⁵, Yao Tong⁵, Eva J Farkas^{6

7}, Madeleine D Burns^{6

7}, Allison Fialkowski⁸, Grace Park⁶, Margot Hardcastle⁶, Elizabeth Gootkind⁶, Ingrid V Bassett^{9

5

7}, Fatma M Shebl^{9

5

8}, Lael M Yonker^{8

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston, MA, USA. aneilan@mgh.harvard.edu.
² Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. aneilan@mgh.harvard.edu.
³ Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Practice Evaluation Center, 100 Cambridge Street, Floor 16, Boston, MA, USA. aneilan@mgh.harvard.edu.
⁴ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. aneilan@mgh.harvard.edu.
⁵ Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Practice Evaluation Center, 100 Cambridge Street, Floor 16, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Pulmonary Division, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Massachusetts General Hospital, Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁹ Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.

Abstract

Background: Patient-level predictors of enrollment in pediatric biorepositories are poorly described. Especially in pandemic settings, understanding who is likely to enroll in a biorepository is critical to interpreting analyses conducted on biospecimens. We describe predictors of pediatric COVID-19 biorepository enrollment and biospecimen donation to identify gaps in COVID-19 research on pediatric biospecimens.

Methods: We compared data from enrollees and non-enrollees aged 0-25 years with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection who were approached for enrollment in the Massachusetts General Hospital pediatric COVID-19 biorepository between April 12, 2020, and May 28, 2020, from community or academic outpatient or inpatient settings. Demographic and clinical data at presentation to care were from automatic and manual chart extractions. Predictors of enrollment and biospecimen donation were assessed with Poisson regression models.

Results: Among 457 individuals approached, 214 (47%) enrolled in the biorepository. A COVID-19 epidemiologic risk factor was recorded for 53%, and 15% lived in a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-defined COVID-19 hotspot. Individuals living in a COVID-19 hotspot (relative risk (RR) 2.4 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8-3.2]), with symptoms at presentation (RR 1.8 [95% CI: 1.2-2.7]), or admitted to hospital (RR 1.8 [95% CI: 1.2-2.8]) were more likely to enroll. Seventy-nine percent of enrollees donated any biospecimen, including 97 nasopharyngeal swabs, 119 oropharyngeal swabs, and 105 blood, 16 urine, and 16 stool specimens, respectively. Age, sex, race, ethnicity, and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status based on zip code did not predict enrollment or biospecimen donation.

Conclusions: While fewer than half of individuals approached consented to participate in the pediatric biorepository, enrollment appeared to be representative of children affected by the pandemic. Living in a COVID-19 hotspot, symptoms at presentation to care and hospital admission predicted biorepository enrollment. Once enrolled, most individuals donated a biospecimen.

Keywords: Adolescent; Biorepository; COVID-19; Children; Consent; Pediatrics.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Ethnicity
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Massachusetts
Pandemics
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding