Department of Pediatrics, Advanced Pediatrics Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012, India.
Department of Virology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
Indian J Pediatr. 2021 Oct;88(10):979-984. doi: 10.1007/s12098-020-03572-w. Epub 2021 Feb 13.
To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and outcome of hospitalized children with COVID-19 during the initial phase of the pandemic.
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the dedicated COVID-19 hospital of a tertiary care referral center in North India. Consecutive children aged 14 y or younger who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR from nasopharyngeal swab between 1 April 2020 and 15 July 2020 were included.
Of 31 children with median (IQR) age of 33 (9-96) mo, 9 (29%) were infants. About 74% (n = 23) had history of household contact. Comorbidities were noted in 6 (19%) children. More than half (58%) were asymptomatic. Of 13 symptomatic children, median (IQR) duration of symptoms was 2 (1-5.5) d. Fever (32%) was most common followed by cough (19%), rapid breathing (13%), diarrhea (10%) and vomiting (10%). Severe [n = 4, 13%] and critical [n = 1, 3%] illnesses were noted more commonly in infants with comorbidities. Three (10%) children required PICU admission and invasive ventilation; one died. Median (IQR) length of hospital stay was 15 (11-20) d. Follow up RT-PCR before discharge was performed in 17 children and the median (IQR) duration to RT-PCR negativity was 16 (12-19) d.
In the early pandemic, most children with COVID-19 had a household contact and presented with asymptomatic or mild illness. Severe and critical illness were observed in young infants and those with comorbidities.
描述大流行初期住院 COVID-19 患儿的流行病学和临床特征及转归。
这是一项在印度北部一家三级转诊中心的专门 COVID-19 医院进行的横断面描述性研究。连续纳入 2020 年 4 月 1 日至 2020 年 7 月 15 日期间通过鼻咽拭子 RT-PCR 检测 SARS-CoV-2 阳性的年龄 14 岁或以下的儿童。
31 例患儿的中位（IQR）年龄为 33（9-96）月龄，9 例（29%）为婴儿。约 74%（n=23）有家庭接触史。6 例（19%）患儿存在合并症。超过一半（58%）患儿无症状。13 例有症状患儿的中位（IQR）症状持续时间为 2（1-5.5）天。发热（32%）最常见，其次为咳嗽（19%）、呼吸急促（13%）、腹泻（10%）和呕吐（10%）。有合并症的婴儿更常出现重症（n=4，13%）和危重症（n=1，3%）疾病。3 例（10%）患儿需要入住 PICU 和有创通气；1 例死亡。中位（IQR）住院时间为 15（11-20）天。17 例患儿在出院前进行了 RT-PCR 随访，中位（IQR）RT-PCR 阴性持续时间为 16（12-19）天。
在大流行早期，大多数 COVID-19 患儿有家庭接触史，表现为无症状或轻症。重症和危重症见于婴儿和有合并症的患儿。
