Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Mexican Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Background: We analyzed the demographic, clinical, and diagnostic data of children and adolescents in Mexico, from the first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to 28 February 2022. Methods: Using the open databases of the Ministry of Health and a tertiary pediatric hospital, we obtained demographic and clinical data from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until 28 February 2022. In addition, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction outputs were used to determine the viral load, and structural protein-based serology was performed to evaluate IgG antibody levels. Results: Of the total 437,832 children and adolescents with COVID-19, 1187 died. Of these patients, 1349 were admitted to the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gómez, and 11 died. Obesity, asthma, and immunosuppression were the main comorbidities, and fever, cough, and headache were the main symptoms. In this population, many patients have a low viral load and IgG antibody levels. Conclusion: During the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, children and adolescents had low incidence and mortality. They are a heterogeneous population, but many patients had comorbidities such as obesity, asthma, and immunosuppression; symptoms such as fever, cough, and headache; and low viral load and IgG antibodies.

Altered COVID-19 immunity in children with asthma by atopic status

“…As in previous studies, we observed that risk of hospitalization, emergency department visit, or unscheduled doctor visit (ie, health care utilization) in the 6 months leading up to the study visit was reduced with a history of COVID-19 vaccination or anti-N IgG, 6 , 7 although in our study COVID-19 vaccination may not have been available to all participants. Thus, health care utilization was observed to increase with allergen-specific atopy.…”

“… 6 In a large Mexican study of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in children and adolescents, asthma was also identified as a comorbidity risk factor. 7 Asthma has also been implicated as a risk factor for post–COVID-19 syndrome in children and adolescents. 8 Currently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that individuals with moderate to severe asthma are disproportionally affected by SARS-CoV-2 and are more likely to be hospitalized.…”

Frequency of Respiratory Virus-Associated infection among Children and Adolescents from a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Mexico City

“…At the end of 2020 and the rst half of 2021, Mexico was going through the most critical phase of infections and deaths related to COVID-19 (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/mexico). Therefore, the epidemiological surveillance strategy implemented by the Mexican government included suspected cases (based on the clinical picture or an epidemiological association) and con rmed cases based on any of the following three processes: test con rmed by an authorized laboratory, epidemiological association with a case con rmed by a laboratory test, and cases con rmed by an opinion committee (only applicable for postmortem diagnosis) [24]. This implied that patients showing more than one symptom associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection were diagnosed as a probable case of COVID-19 without requiring a diagnostic test.…”

“…Demographic data included sex and age, and clinical data included patient status, comorbidities, and signs/symptoms. The comorbidities were de ned by Flores-Alanis et al and the signs/symptoms were de ned by Cortés-Sarabia et al [24,59].…”

“…The temporality of the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Mexico was extracted from the studies by Flores-Alanis et al and Zárate et al [60,61]. The data on the national vaccination program against COVID-19 by the federal government of Mexico were obtained from https://vacunacovid.gob.mx/ [accessed on February 28, 2022] and the study by Flores-Alanis et al [24].…”