Symptoms associated with a positive result for a swab for SARS-CoV-2 infection among children in Alberta

Abstract

he refrain that "children are not small adults" certainly seems to apply in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Children are less likely to become infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) than adults and seem to experience less severe symptoms and have better prognoses. 1-4 However, some studies have suggested that reduced disease severity in children leads to them being less likely to undergo testing. 5 Three 2020 studies highlighted that COVID-19 symptoms in children are similar to those of other acute respiratory illnesses, with fever, cough, nasal congestion, fatigue and runny nose predominating. 6-8 On Sept. 15, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported death to be an uncommon outcome in people younger than 21 years of age (0.08% of all deaths). 9 Beyond an understanding of what symptoms most commonly present in children, health care professionals and public health policy-makers could benefit from knowing which presenting symptoms are most likely to be associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Many jurisdictions have implemented screening questionnaires for pediatric-dominated settings such as schools. We hypothesized that some symptoms in children are more likely than others to be associated with a positive result for a test for SARS-CoV-2. We therefore assessed symptom patterns among children in Alberta who were followed by Alberta Public Health and who had swabs taken for possible SARS-CoV-2 infection,

OctoberFAST: segni e sintomi dei bambini sottoposti a tampone per SARS-CoV-2

“…In rapporto ai pazienti con Influenza A, i pazienti con Covid-19 presentano più frequentemente febbre, diarrea o vomito, cefalea, dolore muscolare e toracico, mentre non sono state riportate differenze significative nel confronto con la sintomatologia dei pazienti affetti da Influenza B 14 . In un ampio studio osservazionale condotto nella provincia canadese di Alberta su bambini sintomatici sottoposti a SMST, è stato riscontrato che la frequenza di anosmia/ageusia, nausea/vomito, cefalea e febbre era più alta nei bambini con test positivo a SARS-CoV-2 15 . In quella ricerca, i soggetti inclusi nello studio sono stati selezionati sulla base della positività al tampone o in quanto contatti stretti di caso.…”

Simulated identification of silent COVID-19 infections among children and estimated future infection rates with vaccination

“…A substantial proportion of COVID-19 cases are attributed to silent transmission from individuals in the pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic stages of infection. [32][33][34][35] Children are particularly likely to have mild or asymptomatic infections, 18,36 increasing the likelihood that they will serve as unidentified links between more severe cases. Although vaccines against COVID-19 now have emergency use authorization, these products have not yet been tested in children and it will be several months before children are widely vaccinated.…”

Innate Receptor Activation Patterns Involving TLR and NLR Synergisms in COVID-19, ALI/ARDS and Sepsis Cytokine Storms: A Review and Model Making Novel Predictions and Therapeutic Suggestions

“…The result is a generalized, nonspecific hyperinflammatory response in the lungs resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with the concomitant activation of nonspecific inflammatory reactivity in the circulatory system and other organs, sometimes leading to multiorgan failure, leaky vasculature, coagulopathies and strokes [ 1 , 7 ]. Cytokine storms are, however, rare in COVID-19: a third of polymerase chain-reaction-positive SARS-CoV-2-infected people are symptom-free; most experience mild-to-moderate symptoms that are treatable on an out-patient basis, while only two to nine percent develop ARDS concomitant with clearly elevated cytokine levels that require hospitalization and intensive care unit treatment [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. It is not known what triggers the nonspecific hyperinflammatory response in this minority of COVID-19 patients.…”