The Pediatric COVID-19 Registry in Kuwait: Methodology and Results of Pilot Phase

Abstract

Objective: Establishing a pediatric COVID-19 registry in Kuwait (PCR-Q8) deemed imperative during the pandemic to study children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) focusing on mode of presentation, therapeutic interventions, disease severity and early outcomes. This manuscript describes the rapid establishment of the PCR-Q8 registry showcasing an infrastructure of the development process and presents the results of the pilot phase. Subject and methods: The registry was developed and implemented using the general key steps from Gliklich et al. resource titled “Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes: A User’s Guide” as a guide for best practice, experience from a previously established pediatric diabetes registry in Kuwait and several other COVID-19 registries developed globally. During the pilot phase, a convenience sample of 120 children were included, of those 66 (55%) were male. Results: Experience and expertise from other COVID-19 registries, guidance provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and effective collaboration and cooperation between the stakeholders, study group and data enterers during these challenging times were critical for the development and implementation of the registry. Our results were similar to international reports where most children presented with mild disease (69.2%), majority (70.2%) had normal chest X-ray, and the most common symptom at presentation was fever (77%). Conclusion: We anticipate the PCR-Q8 development to be a steppingstone for more in-depth investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in Kuwait and further other registry establishments.

Prevalence and factors associated with thyroid autoimmunity among children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from Kuwait

“…Results on the participants' COVID‐19 status during the pandemic period were derived from the Paediatric COVID‐19 Registry of Kuwait (PCR‐Q8) 29 . PCR‐Q8 was a national registry that recorded all cases of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in children in the country since the start of the pandemic in February 2020.…”

“…Results on the participants' COVID-19 status during the pandemic period were derived from the Paediatric COVID-19 Registry of Kuwait (PCR-Q8). 29 PCR-Q8 was a national registry that recorded all cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in the country since the start of the pandemic in February 2020. Positive COVID-19 status was defined as positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and/or positive SARS-CoV-2 serology tests.…”