Comparing Chinese children and adults with RT-PCR positive COVID-19: A systematic review

The various clinical manifestations of COVID-19 with RT-PCR positive patients have been reported. However, the differences in the clinical presentation between children and adults were unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the differences in the clinical manifestations and imaging characteristics between Chinese children and adults with COVID-19 by systematically analyzing the data derived from some latest literatures.

An extensive search of COVID-19 papers was conducted in PubMed and Chinese medical journal network, and relevant articles were selected based on some standard requirements. The included papers were analyzed for differences in clinical manifestation between children and adults with COVID-19 after the quality evaluation with the QUADAS-2 tool. The differences in the clinical features and CT findings were analyzed using a Pearson χ² test or Fisher's exact test. Patients who underwent CT examination were divided into the initial examination (0-4days) and follow-up examination groups (5-14 days).

A total of 345patients (70 children and 275 adults) with RT- PCR (+) were included in our study (5 papers for children and 5 papers for adult groups). Significant differences between children and adults were found in exposure history (p < 0.001, χ² = 166.890), fever (p = 0.016, χ² = 5.757), white cell count (p < 0.001, χ² = 14.043), and CT features in the initial (p < 0.001, χ² = 60.653) and follow-up stages (p < 0.001, χ² = 52.924); and the involved lung in the follow-up stage (p ＜ 0.001, χ² = 16.776).

Some differences have been presented between children and adults with RT-PCR positive COVID-19, which are helpful in the management and protection of children with COVID-19.