Wide spectrum of clinical picture of COVID-19 in children — From mild to severe disease

Children account for a relatively small proportion of laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. In children, COVID-19 usually has a relatively mild course. However, in rare cases, severe disorders can be observed, and clinical manifestations may differ from adults. The aim of this study is to anal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of infection and public health 2021-03, Vol.14 (3), p.374-379
Main Authors: Mania, Anna, Mazur-Melewska, Katarzyna, Lubarski, Karol, Kuczma-Napierała, Jadwiga, Mazurek, Justyna, Jończyk-Potoczna, Katarzyna, Służewski, Wojciech, Figlerowicz, Magdalena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Anosmia
Aplastic anaemia
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Clinical course
COVID-19
COVID-19 - diagnosis
COVID-19 - pathology
Dysgeusia
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Poland
Symptom Assessment
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Children account for a relatively small proportion of laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. In children, COVID-19 usually has a relatively mild course. However, in rare cases, severe disorders can be observed, and clinical manifestations may differ from adults. The aim of this study is to analyse the frequency, clinical picture and outcome of COVID-19 in children based on the experience from the tertiary care centre and regional sanitary-epidemiological office. We report a study regarding 106 cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection cases in PCR from a nasopharyngeal swab (age range 1-month – 17-years). In all cases, history was taken. In children who required hospital admission, physical examination and laboratory test were performed according to clinical indications. Twelve of the patients required admission to the hospital. The most common symptoms were anosmia and dysgeusia (75%) and headaches (49%) in outpatients and fever in hospitalised children (75%). Three children from the hospitalised group developed a severe course with increased inflammatory indexes. The clinical picture was more severe in younger children from the hospitalised group. Treatment options were regarded individually in all cases. Our study is the first tour knowledge regarding the clinical course of COVID-19 in Polish children. In general, the clinical course of COVID-19 was mild with anosmia and dysgeusia as the most common symptoms. However, in hospitalised children, a severe progression of the disease and less typical signs as aplastic anaemia may be developed.
ISSN:1876-0341
1876-035X
DOI:10.1016/j.jiph.2020.12.029