Department of Pediatric Neurology, Neuromuscular UnitHospital Sant Joan de Déu and Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu Passeig Sant Joan de Déu, 2Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950, Barcelona, Spain.
Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Navarrabiomed, Pamplona, Spain.
J Neurol. 2021 Sep;268(9):3081-3085. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-10339-y. Epub 2021 Jan 2.
Children with neuromuscular disorders have been assumed to be a particularly vulnerable population since the beginning of COVID-19. Although this is a plausible hypothesis, there is no evidence that complications or mortality rates in neuromuscular patients are higher than in the general population. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of COVID-19 in children with neuromuscular disorders.
A registry of children with neuromuscular conditions and laboratory-confirmed-SARS-CoV-2 infection was set up by the Neuromuscular Working Group of the Spanish Pediatric Neurology Society (SENEP). Data to be collected were focused on the characteristics and baseline status of the neuromuscular condition and the course of COVID-19.
Severe complications were not observed in our series of 29 children with neuromuscular disorders infected by SARS-CoV-2. Eighty-nine percent of patients were clinically categorized as asymptomatic or mild cases and 10% as moderate cases. Patients with a relatively more severe course of COVID-19 had SMA type 1 and were between 1 and 3 years.
The course of COVID-19 in children with neuromuscular disorders may not be as severe as expected. The protective role of young age seems to outweigh the risk factors that are common in neuromuscular patients, such as a decreased respiratory capacity or a weak cough. Further studies are needed to know if this finding can be generalized to children with other chronic diseases.
自 COVID-19 开始以来，人们一直认为患有神经肌肉疾病的儿童是一个特别脆弱的群体。尽管这是一个合理的假设，但没有证据表明神经肌肉患者的并发症或死亡率高于一般人群。本研究旨在描述患有神经肌肉疾病的儿童 COVID-19 的临床特征和结局。
由西班牙儿科神经病学学会（SENEP）的神经肌肉工作组设立了一个患有神经肌肉疾病和实验室确诊 SARS-CoV-2 感染的儿童登记处。要收集的数据集中在神经肌肉疾病的特征和基线状态以及 COVID-19 的病程上。
在我们的 29 名患有神经肌肉疾病且感染 SARS-CoV-2 的儿童系列中，未观察到严重并发症。89%的患者被临床归类为无症状或轻症病例，10%为中度病例。病程相对较重的患者患有 SMA 1 型，年龄在 1 至 3 岁之间。
神经肌肉疾病儿童 COVID-19 的病程可能不如预期的严重。年轻的保护作用似乎超过了神经肌肉患者常见的危险因素，例如呼吸能力下降或咳嗽无力。需要进一步研究以了解这一发现是否可以推广到患有其他慢性疾病的儿童。
