A new study has put forward the differences in demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and initial vital sign and laboratory values between severity subgroups among children with COVID-19 infection.

Investigators analyzed all children below 19 years of age at the first COVID testing at 56 National COVID Cohort Collaborative sites for index encounters, which ended before September 24, 2021. Overall, 167,262 children were SARS-CoV-2-positive and 10,245 (6.1%) were hospitalized. Among the hospitalized children, 1,423 (13.9%) met the criteria for severe disease: mechanical ventilation (7.8%), vasopressor-inotropic support (8.5%), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (0.4%), or death (1.3%).

Among the hospitalized children, according to multivariable logistic regression, male sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.37), Black/African American ethnicity (OR, 1.25), obesity (OR, 1.19), and having a pediatric complex chronic condition (PCCC; OR, 1.20), appeared to be linked with higher disease severity. Additionally, in comparison with children with moderate severity, those in the severe subgroup had more abnormal initial (day 0) values for several vital signs, such as lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lower oxygen saturation, higher heart rate, and a higher respiratory rate.

The findings are published in JAMA Network Open… (DG Alerts)