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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