Epidemiology and Clinical Presentation of Children Hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Suburbs of Paris

Abstract

Understanding the clinical presentation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and prognosis in children is a major issue. Children often present mild symptoms, and some severe forms require paediatric intensive care, with in some cases a fatal prognosis. Our aim was to identify the epidemiological characteristics, clinical presentation, and prognosis of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) hospitalized in Paris suburb hospitals. In this prospective, observational, multicentre study, we included children hospitalized in paediatric departments of Paris suburb hospitals from 23 March 2020 to 10 May 2020, during the national lockdown in France with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (positive RNA test on a nasopharyngeal swab) or highly suspected infection (clinical, biological, and/or radiological data features suggestive for SARS-CoV-2 infection). A total of 192 children were included for confirmed (n = 157) or highly suspected (n = 35) SARS-CoV-2 infection. The median age was one year old (interquartile range 0.125–11) with a sex ratio 1.3:1. Fever was recorded in 147 (76.6%) children and considered poorly tolerated in 29 (15.1%). The symptoms ranged from rhinorrhoea (34.4%) and gastrointestinal (35.5%) to respiratory distress (25%). Only 10 (5.2%) children had anosmia and five (2.6%) had chest pain. An underlying condition was identified in almost 30% of the children in our study. Overall, 24 (12.5%) children were admitted to paediatric intensive care units, 12 required mechanical ventilation, and three died. For children in Paris suburbs, most cases of Covid-19 showed mild or moderate clinical expression. However, one-eighth of children were admitted to paediatric intensive care units and three died.

Prevalence of Smell or Taste Dysfunction Among Children With COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A total of 18 studies reported prevalence of smell and/or taste dysfunction, most of them reported more than one type of prevalence among children with COVID-19. Specifically, 11 of the included studies reported the prevalence on smell dysfunction ( 13 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 34 – 36 , 40 ), 9 of the included studies reported prevalence on taste dysfunction ( 13 , 27 , 28 , 32 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 40 ), 10 of the included studies reported prevalence on smell or taste dysfunction ( 13 , 14 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 36 , 39 ), and 2 of the included studies reported prevalence on smell and taste dysfunction ( 13 , 28 ). Thus, four different types of prevalence were analyzed.…”

Diagnostic Accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Detection Test in Children: A Real-Life Study

“…For patients recruited in CHI Créteil disposable sterile swabs (Zhejiang Gongdong Medical Technology, China), and Vacuette Virus Transport Tubes (Greiner Bio-One, Austria) were used to collect the naso-pharyngeal samples. The COVID-19 RT-PCR test used was the Allplex 2019-nCoV kit (Seegene, South Korea) which targets two SARS-CoV-2-specific genes (RdRP and N gene) and one Sarbecovirus specific gene from the viral envelope (17).…”

International Analysis of Electronic Health Records of Children and Youth Hospitalized With COVID-19 Infection in 6 Countries

“…Consistent with prior reports, we found greater proportions of younger children among hospitalized patients. 26 , 27 Laboratory tests obtained on hospital admission indicated abnormalities in inflammation and coagulation. Examination of management patterns revealed that the use of candidate therapeutic agents adopted in adult populations remained low in children and youth.…”

“…National-level data were not available for Singapore and only available for a 2-month period for the US. Additional visualizations, including interactive figures with cumulative counts by country are available online 25.…”