Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted by pediatric infectious disease specialists from 32 different hospitals from all over Turkey by case record forms. Pediatric cases who were diagnosed as COVID-19 between March 16, 2020, and June 15, 2020 were included. Case characteristics including age, sex, dates of disease onset and diagnosis, family, and contact information were recorded. Clinical data, including the duration and severity of symptoms, were also collected. Laboratory parameters like biochemical tests and complete blood count, chest X-ray, and chest computed tomography (CT) were determined.Results: There were 1,156 confirmed pediatric COVID-19 cases. In total, male cases constituted 50.3% (n = 582) and females constituted 49.7% (n = 574). The median age of the confirmed cases was 10.75 years (4.5–14.6). Of the total cases, 90 were younger than 1 year of age (7.8%), 108 were 1–3 years of age (9.3%), 148 were 3–6 years of age (12.8%), 298 were 6–12 years of age (25.8%), 233 were 12–15 years of age (20.2%), and 268 cases were older than 15 years of age (23.2%). The most common symptom of the patients at the first visit was fever (50.4%) (n = 583) for a median of 2 days (IQR: 1–3 days). Fever was median at 38.4°C (38.0–38.7°C). The second most common symptom was cough (n = 543, 46.9%). The other common symptoms were sore throat (n = 143, 12.4%), myalgia (n = 141, 12.2%), dyspnea (n = 118, 10.2%), diarrhea (n = 112, 9.7%), stomachache (n = 71, 6.1%), and nasal discharge (n = 63, 5.4%). When patients were classified according to disease severity, 263 (22.7%) patients were asymptomatic, 668 (57.7%) patients had mild disease, 209 (18.1%) had moderate disease, and 16 (1.5%) cases had severe disease. One hundred and forty-nine (12.9%) cases had underlying diseases among the total cases; 56% of the patients who had severe disease had an underlying condition (p < 0.01). The need for hospitalization did not differ between patients who had an underlying condition and those who do not have (p = 0.38), but the need for intensive care was higher in patients who had an underlying condition (p < 0.01). Forty-seven (31.5%) of the cases having underlying conditions had asthma or lung disease (38 of them had asthma).Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the largest pediatric data about confirmed COVID-19 cases. Children from all ages appear to be susceptible to COVID-19, and there is a significant difference in symptomatology and laboratory findings by means of age distribution.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in children is milder than in adults. Household virus exposure may affect clinical severity. We aimed to determine the household contact history of patients and its influence on the clinical stage. Methods One hundred and seventy‐three pediatric patients with COVID‐19 as diagnosed with positive real‐time polymerase chain reaction for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 aged 1 month to 18 years were included. Demographic data, laboratory and clinical findings, and the history of household contact of the patients were obtained. They were classified according to their clinical stage as mild or moderate‐severe. Results Sixty patients (34.7%) were asymptomatic, and 113 were symptomatic (65.3%). Of the 173 patients, 138 (79.8%) had at least one family member in the household who was diagnosed as having COVID‐19. Hemoglobin, absolute neutrophil count, and absolute neutrophil count /absolute lymphocyte count ratio decreased significantly in patients with household contact. The presence of a household contact did not have a significant effect on the presence of symptoms, clinical course, age, and the sex of the patients. The need for hospitalization was less in the group that had household contact. Being 0–12 months, being female, and being a patient without household contact were independent factors associated with higher hospitalization ratios in logistic regression analysis. Conclusions In this study, we found that household contact history did not significantly affect presenting symptoms and clinical course. We detected the rate of hospitalization to be less in the group with only household contact.

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Zinc has potent immunoregulatory and antiviral effects that are critical for growth, immunity, and neurologic development. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of serum zinc levels in pediatric patients with COVID-19 and to demonstrate its association with disease severity. This prospective observational study was conducted between August 3 and November 15, 2020, in pediatric patients aged 1 month to 18 years with confirmed COVID-19 using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We defined a control group whose serum zinc levels were determined 1 year ago at the same time as those of patients with COVID-19. We used 70 μg/dL as the cut-off zinc value to define zinc deficiency. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS for Windows statistics package program. One hundred children with confirmed COVID-19 and 269 children in the control group participated in the study. The median age was 13.3 (IQR: 8–15.4) years in patients with confirmed COVID-19, 11 patients had low serum zinc levels, and 89 patients had normal serum zinc levels. Patients in the group with low zinc levels had a significantly higher hospitalization rate than the group with normal zinc levels (5 (45.5%) and 10 patients (11.2%), respectively) ( p = 0.011). The median serum zinc level in patients with COVID-19 was 88.5 mcg/dL (IQR 77.2–100), which was significantly lower than the median level in the control group, which was 98 mcg/dL (IQR 84–111) ( p = 0.001). There was no association between the severity of COVID-19 and the serum zinc levels of the children. Conclusion : Serum zinc levels may be influenced by many factors such as fasting status, diurnal variation, exercise, and sex, and may give an impression of the zinc status of the population rather than reflecting the individual. The fact that the incidence of hospitalization was significantly higher in patients with both COVID-19 and low serum zinc levels suggests that these patients require a detailed assessment of their living environment. What is Known: • Serum zinc levels have been found to be low in adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19. • There was a correlation between the severity of COVID-19 and serum zinc levels in adults. What is New: • Children with low serum zinc levels were found to have a higher number of hospitalizations. • No association was found between the severity of COVID-19 disease and serum zinc levels in children.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, various severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants have been identified with different characteristics than the nonvariant strain. We retrospectively evaluated the demographic and clinical differences in the cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 children (1 month-18 years old) between March 11, 2020, and September 31, 2022, by the time the variants identified in our country predominate. Bonferroni post hoc analysis was performed to compare the differences between the periods. Of the 283 children in this study, 142 (50.2%) were females. The median age was 36 (interquartile range [IQR]: 7-132) months. Sixty-three (22.2%) patients were hospitalized in the nonvariant period, 24 (8.5%) in the Alpha period, 93 (32.9%) in the Delta period, and 103 (36.4%) in the Omicron period. Fever was the most common symptom in all groups, with no statistically significant differences (p = 0.25). In the Omicron period, respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms decreased, and neurological symptoms increased significantly compared to other periods: [respiratory symptoms; nonvariant (65.1%) vs. Omicron (41.7%), (p = 0.024)], [gastrointestinal symptoms; Delta (41.9%) vs. Omicron (22.3%), (p = 0.018), [neurological symptoms; Delta (14.5%) vs. Omicron (31.1%), (p = 0.03]. Altered mental status and seizures were more common during the Omicron period compared to the pre-Omicron (nonvariant, Alpha, and Delta) period (p = 0.017 and p = 0.005, respectively). Although the main symptoms in children with COVID-19 were fever and respiratory symptoms, an increase in severe neurological manifestations was seen throughout the Omicron variant period.

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Objectives Colistin has come to the fore as a treatment option, especially with the occurrence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections across the world. However, the high nephrotoxic effects of colistin should be taken into consideration in children. The study’s primary outcome was to determine the clinical success of the colistin treatment, and the secondary outcome was to detect the side effects related to colistin. Methods The patients who received intravenous colistin in our hospital’s last 5 years were included in the study. In addition to the patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics, the clinical success of the colistin treatment, 28-day infection-related mortality of the patients, and side effects of colistin were recorded. Results A total of 37 patients received colistin therapy during 2015–2019. Four of these patients had colistin treatment twice a year, so we accepted them as separate cases in each infection attack. Therefore, 41 cases were included in the study. The median age of the cases was 26 months (IQR: 4.50–144.50) and 27 (65.9%) were male. Twenty-seven cases (65.9%) had sepsis. The median dose of colistin was 4.2 (IQR: 3–5) mg/kg/day. Among 44 cultures obtained from the patients, the most common microorganism was Acinetobacter baumannii, with 58.5%. The clinical success was detected in 18 patients (43.9%). While overall nephrotoxicity developed in 14 (34.1%) patients, only two of them needed dialysis. Conclusion Colistin should not be considered the first choice in treating Gram-negative infections but should be kept as salvage therapy in multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections across the world. During the treatment process, close monitoring of renal function tests and urinary output were recommended due to the risk of developing nephrotoxicity.

Background Understanding differences in terms of clinical phenotypes and outcomes of COVID‐19 compared with influenza is vital to optimize the management of patients and to plan healthcare.Herein,we aimed to investigate the clinical differences and outcomes in hospitalized patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 and influenza. Methods We performed a retrospective study of hospitalized children who were positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 between March 2020 and March 2021 and for influenza between January 2016 and February 2020 in respiratory samples.The primary outcome of this study was pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission,and the secondary outcome was the need for respiratory support. Results A total of 74 patients with influenza and 71 who were positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 were included.The distribution among the sexes was similar,but patients with COVID‐19 were older than patients with influenza (96 months vs. 12 months,p<0.001).In terms of underlying chronic diseases, the frequency was 26.7% in the COVID‐19 group and 54% in the influenza group (p=0.001).The comparison of symptoms revealed that fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain occurred more frequently with COVID‐19 (for all p<0.05) and runny nose with influenza (p=0.002).The frequency of admission to the PICU was relatively higher (18.9%) in the influenza group than with COVID‐19 (2.8%) with a significant ratio (p=0.001),secondary bacterial infections were observed more frequently in the influenza group (20.2% vs . 4.2%, p=0.003).Some 88.7% of patients with COVID‐19 did not need respiratory support,whereas 59.4% of patients with influenza did require respiratory support (p<0.001). Conclusions This study noted that influenza caused more frequent admissions to the PICU and a greater need for respiratory support in hospitalized pediatric patients than COVID‐19. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.