SARS Coronavirus 2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Children: A Review on Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnosis

Abstract

Context: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused irreparable damage to society. The pediatric population may be asymptomatic but has positive viral nucleic acid test results and plays an important role in spreading the infection in populations. However, there is a substantial information gap on the epidemiology, pathology, and clinical presentations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. Evidence Acquisition: English research articles published before April 18, 2020, were reviewed to understand the clinical characteristics of SARS coronavirus 2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in children. The WHO (https://www.who. int/) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/) websites were also reviewed to find eligible studies, besides articles extracted from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Results: In comparison with SARS and MERS, COVID-19 seems to have wider clinical symptoms and routes of transmission. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome is a unique clinical feature of this novel virus. The low prevalence of COVID-19 in children may be due to lower contacts or incomplete identification rather than resistance to the virus. Conclusions: As this virus is novel, we believe that lessons learned from SARS and MERS outbreaks are very valuable in handling the current pandemic. The aim of this paper was to provide the updated summary of clinical manifestation, diagnostic, molecular, and genetic aspects of the novel coronavirus in comparison with SARS and MERS coronaviruses in children.

COVID-19 or Influenza, or Both? A Comparison and Algorithmic Approach to Management

“…Some other recent studies also suggest that asymptomatic persons may spread the virus (15). However, according to previous reports from the WHO, "available evidence from contact tracing reported by countries suggests that asymptomatically infected individuals are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who develop symptoms" (16,17).…”

“…Although both COVID-19 and influenza (COV-Flu) may result in severe morbidity and mortality, especially in cases of extreme age, the presence of comorbidities, a compromised immune system, or pregnancy, the proportion of patients developing a severe disease is different in the two illnesses. Individuals considered high risk for influenza, but not COVID-19, are very young children less than five-years-old, especially those under two years of age and people under 19 years of age who have been on aspirin therapy for a long time (16,20).…”

“…Treatment strategies are still changing but, at present, are largely based on respiratory support, fluid and inotropic resuscitation, and ECMO in severe cases. Besides, IVIG, steroids, and anti-coagulants are used to suppress the hyper-inflammatory response(16). After recovery, children need close follow-up, including cardiology follow-up for a few weeks.…”

Pediatric and adolescent COVID‐19 vaccination side effects: A retrospective cohort study of the Iranian teenage group in 2021

“…Although COVID‐19 is transmitted rapidly via the respiratory tract, it can affect other organs in the body. COVID‐19 is characterized by symptoms, such as fever, dry cough, and fatigue that can involve both the respiratory system 2,3 and nonrespiratory organs with different manifestations, including the kidneys liver, heart, eye, and skin 1‐10 . COVID‐19 pandemic has already placed a heavy physical and psychological burden on society.…”

“…COVID‐19 is characterized by symptoms, such as fever, dry cough, and fatigue that can involve both the respiratory system 2 , 3 and nonrespiratory organs with different manifestations, including the kidneys liver, heart, eye, and skin. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 COVID‐19 pandemic has already placed a heavy physical and psychological burden on society. To date, over 180 million people worldwide were infected with COVID‐19, of which approximately 5.4 million have died.…”