Lassandro Giuseppe, Palladino Valentina, Amoruso Anna, Palmieri Viviana Valeria, Russo Giovanna, Giordano Paola
Department of Biomedical Science and Human Oncology-Pediatric Unit, University of Bari "Aldo Moro," Bari, Italy.
Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 1;12(1):e2020042. doi: 10.4084/MJHID.2020.042. eCollection 2020.
Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) commonly cause mild upper-respiratory tract illnesses but can lead to more severe and diffusive diseases. A variety of signs and symptoms may be present, and infections can range in severity from the common cold and sore throat to more serious laryngeal or tracheal infections, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Among the seven coronaviruses that affect humans (SARS)-CoV, the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, and the most recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represent potential life-threatening diseases worldwide. In adults, they may cause severe pneumonia that evolves in respiratory distress syndrome and multiorgan failure with a high mortality rate. Children appear to be less susceptible to develop severe clinical disease and present usually with mild and aspecific symptoms similar to other respiratory infections typical of childhood. However, some children, such as infants, adolescents, or those with underlying diseases may be more at-risk categories and require greater caution from clinicians. Available data on pediatric coronavirus infections are rare and scattered in the literature. The purpose of this review is to provide to clinicians a complete and updated panel useful to recognize and characterize the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations of coronavirus infections in the pediatric age.
人类冠状病毒（HCoVs）通常引起轻度上呼吸道疾病，但也可导致更严重和扩散性的疾病。可能会出现多种体征和症状，感染的严重程度范围从普通感冒和喉咙痛到更严重的喉部或气管感染、支气管炎和肺炎。在七种感染人类的冠状病毒中，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒（SARS-CoV）、中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）以及最新的2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）在全球范围内都代表着潜在的危及生命的疾病。在成人中，它们可能导致严重肺炎，进而发展为呼吸窘迫综合征和多器官功能衰竭，死亡率很高。儿童似乎较不易发展为严重临床疾病，通常表现为与儿童期其他典型呼吸道感染相似的轻微和非特异性症状。然而，一些儿童，如婴儿、青少年或患有基础疾病的儿童，可能属于更高风险类别，临床医生需要更加谨慎。关于儿童冠状病毒感染的现有数据很少且分散在文献中。本综述的目的是为临床医生提供一个完整且最新的资料，有助于识别和描述儿童期冠状病毒感染广泛的临床表现谱。
