title: Seroprevalence of varicella among children and adolescents in Valencia, Spain. Reliability of the parent's reported history and the medical file for identification of potential candidates for vaccination.
abstract: This study assessed the seroprevalence of varicella antibodies in children and adolescents in Spain and evaluated the reliability of two methods for detecting susceptible individuals: (1) parental-reported history of varicella and (2) medically-documented histories maintained by the pediatrician. A total of 186 children (6 to 15 years of age) were recruited in 13 pediatric offices of Valencia, Spain. A brief case report form was completed including previous history of varicella referred by the parents, and a 5 mL blood sample was obtained. The pediatrician medical file was reviewed for antecedent of varicella. The overall prevalence of varicella antibodies was 84% and 88% in the 6-9 years and 10-15 years age brackets, respectively. The predictive value of a negative history of varicella disease was 48% by parental recall (52% "false negative"), and only 26% by medical record (74% "false negative"). However, the positive predictive value of a positive parental reported history or a positive medically-documented history was 95%. The most effective strategy for varicella vaccination of older children and adolescents in Spain will be to immunize those individuals with a lack of positive (unknown or negative) history of disease.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics, Centros de Salud, VIVA, Valencia, Spain. diez_jav@gva.es
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diez-Domingo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: San-Martín
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Baldó
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Planelles
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ubeda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graullera
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peris
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Antón
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Villarroya
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jubert
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casaní
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peidró
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ballester
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008499:Medical Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011939:Mental Recall; D010290:Parents; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine