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Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
A Systematic Review of Persistent Clinical Features After SARS-CoV-2 in the Pediatric Population
Li Jiang1, Xuan Li1,2, Jia Nie3
1Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
Insights
Long COVID is common in children, with over 16% experiencing persistent symptoms for months after infection. Female children may be more susceptible to developing these long-term effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Long-term health effects following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are increasingly recognized.
- The prevalence and significance of these effects in the pediatric population remain uncertain.
Conclusions:
- Persistent clinical features beyond 3 months are common in children and adolescents after COVID-19.
- The spectrum of long COVID symptoms in pediatric populations is broad.
- High-quality, prospective studies with appropriate controls are needed to further elucidate long COVID in children.
Context:
Long-term health effects after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been increasingly reported but their prevalence and significance in the pediatric population remains uncertain.
Objective:
To present the prevalence and characteristics of the long-term clinical features of COVID-19 (long COVID) in the global pediatric population.
Data Sources:
PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, WHO COVID-19 database, google scholar, medRxiv, bioRxiv, and multiple national public health databases.
Study Selection:
Published articles and preprints from December, 2019 to December, 2022 investigating the epidemiology and characteristics of persistent clinical features at least 3 months after COVID-19 in children and adolescents (0-19 years old) were included.
Data Extraction:
Study characteristics and detailed description of long COVID were extracted into a predefined form.
Results:
Twenty seven cohorts and 4 cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria and involved over 15 000 pediatric participants. A total of more than 20 persistent symptoms and clinical features were reported among children and adolescents. 16.2% (95% confidence interval 8.5% to 28.6%) of the pediatric participants experienced 1 or more persistent symptom(s) at least 3 months post COVID-19. Female gender might be associated with developing certain long COVID symptoms.
Limitations:
Included studies presented with great heterogeneity because of significant variations in the definition of "long COVID," follow up duration, and method. There could be nonresponse and other potential bias.
Conclusions:
Persistent clinical features beyond 3 months among children and adolescents with proven COVID-19 are common and the symptom spectrum is wide. High-quality, prospective studies with proper controls are necessary in the future.
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