SARS-CoV-2 With Concurrent Respiratory Viral Infection as a Risk Factor for a Higher Level of Care in Hospitalized...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric critical care medicine
• Infectious diseases
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Over 3.5 million pediatric cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in the US by early 2021.
• While most pediatric COVID-19 cases are mild, some require hospitalization and intensive care.
• Concurrent respiratory viral infections may increase the risk of severe disease in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between concurrent respiratory viral infections and the need for ICU care in hospitalized pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, international, cross-sectional study.
• Data collected from 67 hospitals on pediatric patients (<18 years) hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2.
• Multivariate analysis was used to assess the impact of viral coinfection on ICU admission.

Main Results:

• A total of 922 pediatric patients were included in the study.
• 391 patients required ICU level care, and 31 had concurrent non-SARS-CoV-2 viral coinfections.
• Viral respiratory coinfection was significantly associated with the need for ICU care (OR, 3.6; P < 0.01) after adjusting for other factors.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent respiratory viral infections are associated with an increased need for ICU care in pediatric SARS-CoV-2 patients.
• Further research is needed to develop risk-stratification tools for pediatric COVID-19 severity.
• Identifying risk factors can improve management of severe pediatric COVID-19 cases.