Background: To evaluate the efficiency of the school health test, by studying; the number of unknown anomalies detected; the number of children who went to confirm the anomalies; and the number of anomalies confirmed.
Methods: A descriptive observational study, with a subsequent followup, aimed at all students tested from the first, fifth and eighth years of EGB from the six schools in the basic area of "Molino de la Vega" in Huelva (714 in total).
Results: A total of 172 anomalies were detected (24% of the examined). Of those, 133 (77.3%) were followed and 112 (84.2%) came back to confirm the diagnosis, being the highest percentage (100%) for empty scrotum and the lowest (75%) for somatometric anomalies. A number of 73 (79.76%) of the anomalies detected were confirmed, reaching the maximum for visual alterations (86.48%) and the minimum for raquis deviations (65.21%). Of the children examined a 10.22% had anomalies not detected before.
Conclusions: The school test proved highly efficient. Given the high number of anomalies detected in our basic health area, the percentage of children who went to confirm the diagnosis together with the high percentage of anomalies confirmed.