The novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the Beta Coronavirus genus and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Infected children may be asymptomatic or present fever, dry cough, fatigue or gastrointestinal symptoms. The CDC recommends that clinicians should decide to test patients based on the presence of signs and symptoms compatible with COVID-19.

In a new study published in Acta Bio-Medica, 42 children – the majority being under 5 years of age, were referred to the Pediatric Department as possible cases of COVID-19 infection. Blood analysis, chest X-ray and naso-oropharyngeal swab specimens for viral identification of COVID-19 were requested.

The results indicated that none of the screened children resulted positive for COVID-19 infection. At first presentation, the most frequent signs and symptoms were: fever in 71.4%; fatigue in 35.7%; and cough in 30.9%. Meanwhile, high C-reactive protein value and abnormalities of chest X-ray – bronchial wall thickening, were detected in 26.2% and 19% of patients, respectively. Nearly half of the patients (45.2%) required hospitalization in the Pediatric Unit while one patient had to be admitted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

It was concluded that testing people who meet the COVID-19 suspected case definition criteria is essential for clinical management and outbreak control. In fact, children of all ages can get COVID-19, although they appear to be affected less frequently than adults.

Source: Acta Bio-Medica 2020 May 11;91(2):75-79. doi: 10.23750/abm.v91i2.9607.