Funzione cardiopolmonare in bambini con pregressa infezione da Covid-19 lieve o asintomatica e ritorno all’attività sportiva

Abstract

Aim - To evaluate the cardiopulmonary function in children returning to play sports after mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. - Methods - This is a consecutive case series conducted at the Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Trieste, Italy. Paediatric patients who accessed the Institute for cardiologic and pneumological evaluation before the return to play competitive sports were recruited. According to the Italian Sports Medical Federation recommendations, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram, treadmill ECG test and pulmonary function tests were performed. - Results - 240 patients (aged 8-17 years old) were recruited. Among these, 233 children were considered for the final analysis. Out of 233, 147 (63.1%) had a mild symptomatic form of SARS-CoV-2 infection, while 86 (36.9%) were asymptomatic. The main referred symptoms were fever (n = 68, 46.3%), headache (n = 42, 28.6%), anosmia (n = 40, 27.2%), rhinitis (n = 34, 23.1%), ageusia (n = 32, 21.8%), cough (n = 22, 15%), asthenia (n = 21, 14.3%), arthralgia-myalgia (n = 20, 13.6%), sore throat (n = 14, 9.5%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 9, 6.1%). No child presented evidence of cardiopulmonary function impairment after an average time of 76.1 days (SD 39.2) from SARS-CoV-2 swab positivity and a median of 68 days (IQ1 49, IQ3 98). - Conclusion - This study suggests that the diagnostic yield of cardiopulmonary tests before returning to play sports may be very low in the absence of specific symptoms.

Return to Play after SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Focus on the Pediatric Population with Potential Heart Involvement

“…The FMSI guideline is the only one that included a large number of exams for children recovered from moderate to severe COVID-19, leading to performing several diagnostic tests that would not be necessary. A study conducted by the Institute for Maternal and Child Health of Trieste, Italy, evaluated pediatric patients before their return to sports activity, subjecting them to screening proposed by the FMSI [39]. The study showed that none of the patients with a history of asymptomatic or mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection presented cardiac or pulmonary function limitations, and all patients enrolled in the study received eligibility for return to play.…”