30-Day Outcomes of Children and Adolescents With COVID-19: An International Experience.
Duarte-Salles T, Vizcaya D, Pistillo A, Casajust P, Sena AG, Lai LYH, Prats-Uribe A, Ahmed W-U-R, Alshammari TM, Alghoul H, Alser O, Burn E, You SC, Areia C, Blacketer C, DuVall S, Falconer T, Fernandez-Bertolin S, Fortin S, Golozar A, Gong M, Tan EH, Huser V, Iveli P, Morales DR, Nyberg F, Posada J
Pediatrics September 2021, 148 (3) e2020042929; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-042929.
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES To characterize the demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, in-hospital treatments, and health outcomes among children and adolescents diagnosed or hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to compare them in secondary analyses with patients diagnosed with previous seasonal influenza in 2017–2018.
METHODS International network cohort using real-world data from European primary care records (France, Germany, and Spain), South Korean claims and US claims, and hospital databases. We included children and adolescents diagnosed and/or hospitalized with COVID-19 at age <18 between January and June 2020. We described baseline demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, 30-day in-hospital treatments, and outcomes including hospitalization, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, and death.
RESULTS A total of 242 158 children and adolescents diagnosed and 9769 hospitalized with COVID-19 and 2 084 180 diagnosed with influenza were studied. Comorbidities including neurodevelopmental disorders, heart disease, and cancer were more common among those hospitalized with versus diagnosed with COVID-19. Dyspnea, bronchiolitis, anosmia, and gastrointestinal symptoms were more common in COVID-19 than influenza. In-hospital prevalent treatments for COVID-19 included repurposed medications (<10%) and adjunctive therapies: systemic corticosteroids (6.8%–7.6%), famotidine (9.0%–28.1%), and antithrombotics such as aspirin (2.0%–21.4%), heparin (2.2%–18.1%), and enoxaparin (2.8%–14.8%). Hospitalization was observed in 0.3% to 1.3% of the cohort diagnosed with COVID-19, with undetectable (n < 5 per database) 30-day fatality. Thirty-day outcomes including pneumonia and hypoxemia were more frequent in COVID-19 than influenza.
CONCLUSIONS Despite negligible fatality, complications including hospitalization, hypoxemia, and pneumonia were more frequent in children and adolescents with COVID-19 than with influenza. Dyspnea, anosmia, and gastrointestinal symptoms could help differentiate diagnoses. A wide range of medications was used for the inpatient management of pediatric COVID-19.
Duarte-Salles T, Vizcaya D, Pistillo A, Casajust P, Sena AG, Lai LYH, Prats-Uribe A, Ahmed W-U-R, Alshammari TM, Alghoul H, Alser O, Burn E, You SC, Areia C, Blacketer C, DuVall S, Falconer T, Fernandez-Bertolin S, Fortin S, Golozar A, Gong M, Tan EH, Huser V, Iveli P, Morales DR, Nyberg F, Posada J. 30-Day Outcomes of Children and Adolescents With COVID-19: An International Experience.
Pediatrics September 2021, 148 (3) e2020042929; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-042929.
URL: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/148/3/e2020042929