SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children and Newborns: A Systematic Review

Abstract

A recent outbreak of a novel Coronavirus responsible for a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading globally. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing evidence on SARS-CoV-2 infections in pediatric age.An electronic search was conducted in PubMed database. Papers published between the 1st of January and the 7th of April, 2020 including children aged 0-18 years were selected. Fifty-two studies and two reviews were included, with a total sample size of 4.612 children (2.366 males, 51.3%, weighted mean age 7 years). Patients showed mainly mild (1285/2679, 48.5%) and moderate (1035/2679, 39.1%) signs of the infection. Less than 2% of children were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The most commonly described symptoms were fever (49.2%) and cough (44.1%). Laboratory findings were often unremarkable. Children underwent a chest CT-scan in 85.7% of all cases, and 36% resulted normal. Overall, the estimated mortality was 0.07%. A higher proportion of newborns was severely ill (17%) and dyspnea was the commonest reported sign (40%). Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 affects children less severely than adults. Laboratory and radiology findings are mainly nonspecific. Larger epidemiological and clinical cohort studies are needed to better understand possible implications of COVID-19 infection in children.

The impact of COVID-19 on a tertiary care pediatric emergency department

“…The drop in the incidence of acute infections might seem to contrast the increased number of visits usually observed during seasonal influenza epidemics [25,26]. However, SARS-CoV-2 does not affect children with the same frequency and severity as adults [27]. According to one of the largest study on the prevalence of COVID-19 in European children, only 8% of the patients with a confirmed infection required admission to an ICU [28].…”

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An overview

“…Without early treatment, approximately 10%–15% of the infected persons develop a severe disease (COVID-19), which may include any of the followings: pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary embolism, cardiomiopathy, disseminated intravascular coagulation, ultimately leading to death in most critical cases ( Huang et al, 2020 ; Tang et al, 2020b ; Klok et al, 2020 ). Although the likelihood of severe disease is lower in children, the clinical scenario is similar ( Su et al, 2020a ; Liguoro et al, 2020 ).…”

Peculiaridades Da Infecção Por Sars-Cov-2 Em Pediatria / Peculiarities of Sars-Cov-2 Infection in Pediatric Patients

“…Contudo, essa questão ainda não foi totalmente elucidada, uma vez que anticorpos IgM foram detectados em recém nascidos de mães com COVID-19, apesar de falsos-positivos serem possíveis de ocorrer. (LIGUORO et al, 2020).…”

“…As informações clínicas acerca dessa doença na população pediátrica ainda é limitada. Sabe-se que a infecção nas crianças tende a ser mais branda e com melhor prognóstico do que em adultos, possivelmente por possuírem características diferentes no receptor onde esse vírus atua (CHANG T. H., et al, 2020;LIGUORO, I., et. al., 2020).…”