Marmara University School of Medicine, Pendik Training and Research Hospital. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Istanbul, Turkey.
Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kırdar City Hospital. Department of Radiology, Istanbul, Turkey.
J Infect Dev Ctries. 2022 Jan 31;16(1):16-24. doi: 10.3855/jidc.15353.
Little is known about the COVID-19 disease characteristics and differences between different pediatric age groups. This study aimed to investigate the disease characteristics according to age groups.
We conducted a retrospective, single-center study of pediatric COVID-19 in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey. The patients were divided into three groups: 15 days-24 months old (Group 1), 25-144 months old (Group 2), and 145-210 months old (Group 3) according to age.
A total of 139 pediatric patients with COVID-19 were examined. Twenty-nine patients (20.9%) were in Group 1, 52 (37.4%) were in Group 2, 58 (41.7%) were in Group 3. Thirty-nine patients (28.1%) were hospitalized. The most common symptoms were cough (55.4%) and fever (51.8%). The median chest X-ray (CXR) score of hospitalized patients was 1 (min 0-max 7), and the median CXR score of outpatients was 1 (min 0-max 6). Fever was significantly more frequent in Group 1, and chest pain was more frequent in Group 3. Group 1 had significantly higher WBC, lymphocyte, thrombocyte counts, AST, LDH, D-dimer, and Troponin T levels but lower hemoglobin, total protein, and albumin levels. The treatment included antibiotics, oseltamivir, hydroxychloroquine, and supportive therapy. Only one patient (0.7%) received non-invasive mechanical ventilatory support.
As we know the clinical course of COVID-19 in children is less severe than in adults. We also found significant differences in both clinical and laboratory findings between different pediatric age groups which supports the theory that disease pathogenesis is highly variable according to age.
关于 COVID-19 疾病特征以及不同儿科年龄组之间的差异，我们知之甚少。本研究旨在根据年龄组调查疾病特征。
我们在土耳其的一家三级保健医院进行了一项回顾性、单中心的儿科 COVID-19 研究。根据年龄将患者分为三组：15 天至 24 个月（第 1 组）、25-144 个月（第 2 组）和 145-210 个月（第 3 组）。
共检查了 139 例儿科 COVID-19 患者。29 例（20.9%）为第 1 组，52 例（37.4%）为第 2 组，58 例（41.7%）为第 3 组。39 例（28.1%）住院。最常见的症状是咳嗽（55.4%）和发热（51.8%）。住院患者的中位数胸部 X 线（CXR）评分 1 分（最小值 0-最大值 7），门诊患者的中位数 CXR 评分 1 分（最小值 0-最大值 6）。第 1 组发热更常见，第 3 组胸痛更常见。第 1 组白细胞、淋巴细胞、血小板计数、AST、LDH、D-二聚体和肌钙蛋白 T 水平显著较高，但血红蛋白、总蛋白和白蛋白水平显著较低。治疗包括抗生素、奥司他韦、羟氯喹和支持性治疗。只有 1 例（0.7%）患者接受了无创机械通气支持。
正如我们所知，儿童 COVID-19 的临床过程比成人轻。我们还发现不同儿科年龄组之间的临床和实验室发现存在显著差异，这支持疾病发病机制根据年龄高度可变的理论。
