Re-evaluation After 2 Years of COVID-19 Pandemic: Return to Play in
                    Pediatric Population: What’s New?

Tranchita, Eliana; Cafiero, Giulia; Giordano, Ugo; Gentili, F.; Parisi, Attilio; Pierri, Chiara; Carducci, Francesca Ippolita Calò; Drago, Fabrizio; Turchetta, Attilio

doi:10.1055/a-1962-7869

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 22 publications

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“…They included, together with athletes, adults, adolescents, and children practicing non-professional sporting and physical activity of different intensity [20]. A problem raised by some experts was whether specific rules should be prepared for pediatric subjects who, in general, practice less intense physical activity than adults, especially professional athletes [21,22]. Pediatric guidelines were prepared detailing which children should require physician's clearance before returning to play [23,24].…”

Section: Covid-19 and Sport Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Paglialonga,

Aurelio,

Principi

et al. 2023

JCM

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The COVID-19 pandemic has entailed consequences on any type of physical activities, mainly due to the social restriction measures applied to reduce the spreading of SARS-CoV-2. When public health policies progressively reduced limitations and resuming a normal life was possible, the return to previous physical activity and sports was not only requested by people who had deeply suffered from limitations, but was also recommended by experts as a means of reducing the physical and psychological consequences induced by the pandemic. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize the available evidence on the return to play in children after SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting an algorithm for clinical practice and highlighting priorities for future studies. Criteria to identify subjects requiring laboratory and radiological tests before returning to physical activity are severity of COVID-19 and existence of underlying disease. Children of any age with asymptomatic infection or mild disease severity, i.e., the great majority of children with previous COVID-19, do not need a cardiologic test before resumption of previous physical activity. Only a visit or a telephonic contact with the primary care pediatricians should be established. On the contrary, children with moderate COVID-19 should not exercise until they are cleared by a physician and evaluated for resting electrocardiogram, exercise testing, and echocardiogram. Finally, in those with severe COVID-19, return to play should be delayed for several months, should be gradual and should be performed only after a cardiologist’s clearance. Further studies are needed to assess the risks of returning to sports activity in pediatric age, including careful age-adjusted risk stratification, in order to improve the cost–benefit ratio of specific screenings.

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