1 research outputs found
Epidemiology, Clinical Features and Prognostic Factors of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results From an Italian Multicenter Study
Background: Many aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents
remain unclear and optimal treatment is debated. The objective of our study was
to investigate epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of pediatric
SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on risk factors for complicated and critical disease.
Methods: The present multicenter Italian study was promoted by the Italian Society
of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, involving both pediatric hospitals and general
pediatricians/family doctors. All subjects under 18 years of age with documented
SARS-CoV-2 infection and referred to the coordinating center were enrolled from
March 2020.
Results: As of 15 September 2020, 759 children were enrolled (median age 7.2 years,
IQR 1.4; 12.4). Among the 688 symptomatic children, fever was the most common
symptom (81.9%). Barely 47% of children were hospitalized for COVID-19. Age was
inversely related to hospital admission (p < 0.01) and linearly to length of stay (p = 0.014).
One hundred forty-nine children (19.6%) developed complications. Comorbidities were
risk factors for complications (p < 0.001). Viral coinfections, underlying clinical conditions,
age 5\u20139 years and lymphopenia were statistically related to ICU admission (p < 0.05).
Garazzino et al. SARS-CoV-2 in Children and Adolescents
Conclusions: Complications of COVID-19 in children are related to comorbidities and
increase with age. Viral co-infections are additional risk factors for disease progression
and multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporarily related to COVID-19 (MIS-C) for
ICU admission