Children with SARS-CoV-2 are mostly mild symptomatic, but they may develop conditions, such as persisting symptoms, that may put them at greater risk of complications. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency and the presence of risk factors for persisting COVID-19 symptoms in children. We carried out a prospective observational study of the clinical manifestation of Long COVID at the Department of Maternal Infantile Science of a tertiary University hospital in Rome. We included 697 children (0–18 years), with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Children and parents were asked questions regarding persistent symptoms of COVID-19. Children with symptoms 30 days after initial diagnosis were 185/697 (26.4%). Moreover, 81/697 (11.6%) patients presented symptoms 90 days after the diagnosis. Thirty-day-persisting symptoms were mostly present in children with anosmia, atopy, asthenia, and cough in the acute phase compared with the asymptomatic children 30 days after infection. After 90 days, symptoms described were mainly neurological (47/697 children, 6.7%), and headache (19/697; 2.7%) was the most frequent manifestation. In conclusion, a relatively large proportion of the patients reported persisting symptoms that seem to be related to the symptom burden and to the atopy. Ninety days after the infection, most of the children had recovered, showing that long-term effects are not frequent. Limitations of the study include the single-center design and the lack of a control group.
A Single Center Observational Study on Clinical Manifestations and Associated Factors of Pediatric Long COVID / Mancino, E., Nenna, R., Matera, L., Paolo La Regina, D., Petrarca, L., Iovine, E., Di Mattia, G., Frassanito, A., Conti, M.G., Bonci, E., Spatuzzo, M., Ialongo, S., Zicari, A.M., Spalice, A., Midulla, F., Behalf Of The Long Covid Research Group, O.n.. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH. - ISSN 1660-4601. - 20:18(2023). [10.3390/ijerph20186799]
A Single Center Observational Study on Clinical Manifestations and Associated Factors of Pediatric Long COVID
Enrica Mancino;Raffaella Nenna;Luigi Matera;Laura Petrarca;Elio Iovine;Greta Di Mattia;Antonella Frassanito;Maria Giulia Conti;Enea Bonci;Mattia Spatuzzo;Sara Ialongo;Anna Maria Zicari;Alberto Spalice;Fabio Midulla;
2023
Abstract
Children with SARS-CoV-2 are mostly mild symptomatic, but they may develop conditions, such as persisting symptoms, that may put them at greater risk of complications. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency and the presence of risk factors for persisting COVID-19 symptoms in children. We carried out a prospective observational study of the clinical manifestation of Long COVID at the Department of Maternal Infantile Science of a tertiary University hospital in Rome. We included 697 children (0–18 years), with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Children and parents were asked questions regarding persistent symptoms of COVID-19. Children with symptoms 30 days after initial diagnosis were 185/697 (26.4%). Moreover, 81/697 (11.6%) patients presented symptoms 90 days after the diagnosis. Thirty-day-persisting symptoms were mostly present in children with anosmia, atopy, asthenia, and cough in the acute phase compared with the asymptomatic children 30 days after infection. After 90 days, symptoms described were mainly neurological (47/697 children, 6.7%), and headache (19/697; 2.7%) was the most frequent manifestation. In conclusion, a relatively large proportion of the patients reported persisting symptoms that seem to be related to the symptom burden and to the atopy. Ninety days after the infection, most of the children had recovered, showing that long-term effects are not frequent. Limitations of the study include the single-center design and the lack of a control group.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
