COVID-19 in children ranging from asymptomatic to a multi-system inflammatory disease: A single-center study |
| |
Authors: | Walaa Shahin Walaa Rabie Osama Alyossof Mohammed Alasiri Mohamed Alfaki Elamin Mahmoud Muwaffak Hijazi Huda El Faraidi Hassan Alahmari |
| |
Institution: | From the Department of Pediatrics (Shahin), Faculty of Medicine, from the Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology (Rabie), Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; and from the Department of Pediatrics (Shahin, Alyossof, Alasiri, Alfaki, Mahmoud, Hijazi, El Faraidi, Alahmari), Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. |
| |
Abstract: | Objectives:To identify clinical and laboratory characteristics of the Saudi children with confirmed COVID-19.Methods:Eighty-eight children (0-14 years) with COVID-19 who were admitted to Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from April to June 2020 were recruited.Results:Mean age was 5.74 ± 4.7 years with 41 (49.4%) males and 42 (50.6%) females. The length of hospital stay (LOS) ranged from 1 to 17 days. The main source of infection was infected family members. Mean values of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were noticeably above normal. Degree of severity and length of stay was significantly correlated with lymphopenia (r= -0.36; p=0.001), whereas it was positively correlated with absolute neutrophil count and with high inflammatory markers, such as CRP, LDH, and others.Conclusions:Identifying the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the Saudi children with confirmed COVID-19 will improve understanding of this disease’s presentation and will help put rapid and proper management strategies into place to face this pandemic. A high index of suspicion is needed for cases presenting with multi-system inflammatory disease, which represented 5.7% of the included study population. |
| |
Keywords: | COVID-19 children Saudi Arabia pediatric Multisystem inflammatory disease MIS-c |
|
|