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Clinical manifestations of children with COVID-19: A systematic review
Tiago H de Souza1, José A Nadal1, Roberto J N Nogueira1,2
1Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Insights
Clinical features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children vary from adults. Fever and respiratory symptoms are not always indicative of COVID-19 in pediatric cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents a global health challenge.
- Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children remain largely undefined.
- Understanding pediatric COVID-19 is crucial for public health management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To delineate the clinical, laboratorial, and radiological features of COVID-19 in pediatric patients.
- To provide a comprehensive overview of disease presentation in children.
- To inform clinical practice and public health strategies for pediatric COVID-19.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of Medline database (December 2019 - April 2020).
- Inclusion of studies with pediatric patients (<18 years) confirmed positive for COVID-19 via RT-PCR.
- Analysis of clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and radiological examinations.
Main Results:
- 38 studies encompassing 1124 pediatric cases were analyzed.
- Most cases were asymptomatic (14.2%), mild (36.3%), or moderate (46.0%); severe (2.1%) and critical (1.2%) cases were rare.
- Fever (47.5%) and cough (41.5%) were the most common symptoms; pneumonia was diagnosed in 36.9% of cases.
- Computed tomography revealed abnormalities in 63.0% of cases, including ground-glass opacities and consolidations.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric COVID-19 clinical presentation differs significantly from adult cases.
- Fever and respiratory symptoms are not consistently defining characteristics of COVID-19 in children.
- Further research is needed to fully characterize the spectrum of COVID-19 in pediatric populations.
Background:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is an unprecedented global public health challenge, leading to thousands of deaths every day worldwide. Despite the epidemiological importance, clinical patterns of children with COVID-19 remain unclear. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, laboratorial, and radiological characteristics of children with COVID-19.
Methods:
The Medline database was searched between December 1st 2019 and April 6th 2020. No language restrictions were applied. Inclusion criteria were (a) studied patients younger than 18 years old; (b) presented original data from cases of COVID-19 confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction; and (c) contained descriptions of clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, or radiological examinations.
Results:
A total of 38 studies (1124 cases) were included. From all the cases, 1117 had their severity classified: 14.2% were asymptomatic, 36.3% were mild, 46.0% were moderate, 2.1% were severe, and 1.2% were critical. The most prevalent symptom was fever (47.5%), followed by cough (41.5%), nasal symptoms (11.2%), diarrhea (8.1%), and nausea/vomiting (7.1%). One hundred forty-five (36.9%) children were diagnosed with pneumonia and 43 (10.9%) upper airway infections were reported. Reduced lymphocyte count was reported in 12.9% of cases. Abnormalities in computed tomography were reported in 63.0% of cases. The most prevalent abnormalities reported were ground-glass opacities, patchy shadows, and consolidations. Only one death was reported.
Conclusions:
Clinical manifestations of children with COVID-19 differ widely from adult cases. Fever and respiratory symptoms should not be considered a hallmark of COVID-19 in children.
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