From the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Fellowship, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Pediatric Oncology Unit, HOMI, Fundación Hospital pediátrico la Misericordia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2021 Jun 1;40(6):499-502. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003135.
In children, the complications of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection occur less frequently than in adults but the characteristics of this disease in oncology patients are not well characterized.
This was a retrospective study in patients younger than 18 years of age with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and cancer diagnoses between April and September 2020. Demographic variables, laboratory, and radiologic findings and complications of each case were identified. A descriptive analysis was performed.
A total of 33 patients were identified; the median age was 10 years. Fifteen patients (42%) were in chemotherapy at the time of the infection diagnosis, in two patients the chemotherapy protocol was permanently suspended. The most common symptom was fever in 20 patients (60%). Seven patients (21.2%) showed mild pneumonia, four patients (12.1%) severe pneumonia, and three cases (9.0%) were classified as critical. In the evaluated cohort, five patients (15.1%) died, and in two of those, death was caused by COVID-19 infection.
Children with an oncologic disease, the search for COVID cases should be oriented to patients with fever, including febrile neutropenia, the presence of respiratory symptoms, and the search for epidemiologic contact. A higher frequency of complications and mortality attributed to COVID-19, two in pediatric oncohematologic patients was found. Institutional strategies to detect the infection early and lower institutional infection are indicated.
在儿童中，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 感染的并发症比成人少见，但肿瘤患者的这种疾病特征尚未得到很好的描述。
这是一项回顾性研究，纳入了 2020 年 4 月至 9 月期间患有 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）和癌症的年龄小于 18 岁的患者。确定了每个病例的人口统计学变量、实验室和影像学发现以及并发症。进行了描述性分析。
共确定了 33 例患者；中位年龄为 10 岁。15 例（42%）患者在感染诊断时正在接受化疗，其中 2 例患者的化疗方案被永久暂停。最常见的症状是 20 例患者（60%）发热。7 例（21.2%）患者表现为轻度肺炎，4 例（12.1%）患者表现为重度肺炎，3 例（9.0%）患者被归类为危重症。在评估的队列中，有 5 例患者（15.1%）死亡，其中 2 例患者的死亡归因于 COVID-19 感染。
患有肿瘤疾病的儿童，应针对发热患者（包括发热性中性粒细胞减少症）、出现呼吸道症状以及寻找流行病学接触者来寻找 COVID 病例。在儿科血液肿瘤患者中，发现 COVID-19 感染导致的并发症和死亡率更高，为 2 例。需要制定机构策略来早期发现感染并降低机构内感染。
