Ángela Gentile1, María Del Valle Juárez2, Lucía Romero Bollón2, Aldo D Cancellara2, Marina Pasinovich3, Martín Brizuela4, Cristina Euliarte5, Gabriela N Ensinck6, Carlota Russ7, Liliana Saraceni8, Gabriela Tapponier9, Susana Villa Nova10, Andrea Falaschi11, Analía Garnero12, Pablo Melonari13, Luciana Bellone14, Alejandra Gaiano15, Víctor Pebe Florian16, Elizabeth Bogdanowicz17, M Soledad Areso18. 1. Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutiérrez, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. angelagentile21@gmail.com. 2. Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutiérrez, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 3. Hospital de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 4. Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Dr. Isidoro Iriarte, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 5. Hospital Pediátrico Dr. Avelino Lorenzo Castelán, Resistencia, Argentina. 6. Hospital de Niños Víctor J. Vilela, Rosario, Argentina. 7. Fundación Hospitalaria, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 8. Hospital General de Agudos Bernardino Rivadavia, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 9. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 10. Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Juan Antonio Fernández, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 11. Hospital Pediátrico Alexander Fleming y Hospital Dr. Ramón Carrillo, Mendoza, Argentina. 12. Hospital de Niños De la Santísima Trinidad, Córdoba, Argentina. 13. Hospital de Niños Dr. Humberto Notti, Mendoza, Argentina. 14. Hospital Regional Ushuaia Gobernador Ernesto Campos, Ushuaia, Argentina. 15. Hospital Municipal Materno Infantil de San Isidro, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 16. Hospital Luisa C. de Gandulfo y Hospital Dr. Arturo Oñativia, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 17. Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martin, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 18. Sanatorio Franchin, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The current evidence indicates that the severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is lower in the pediatric population but local data are still limited. Objective: To characterize the clinical and epidemiological aspects of COVID-19 infection in patients younger than 18 years in Argentina. POPULATION AND METHODS: Cross-sectional, observational, and analytical study of confirmed COVID-19 patients aged 0-18 years seen between March 2020 and March 2021 at 19 referral children's hospitals of Argentina. A multivariate analysis was done to identify predictors of severe cases. RESULTS: A total of 2690 COVID-19 cases were included: 77.7% lived in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires; 50.1% were males; patients' median age was 5.6 years. Of them, 90% were seen during epidemiological weeks 20-47 of 2020; 60.4% had a history of contact with COVID-19 patients; and 96.6% in their family setting. Also, 51.4% had respiratory symptoms; 61.6%, general symptoms; 18.8%, gastrointestinal symptoms; 17.1%, neurological symptoms; 7.2%, other symptoms; and 21.5% were asymptomatic. In addition, 59.4% of patients were hospitalized and 7.4% had a severe or critical course. A total of 57 patients developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome. A history of asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital heart disease, moderate to severe malnutrition, obesity, chronic neurological disease and/or age younger than 6 months were independent predictors of severity. Living in a vulnerable neighborhood was a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of cases referred a history of contact with COVID-19 patients in the family setting. Hospitalization was not based on clinical criteria of severity. Severity was associated with the presence of certain comorbidities.
INTRODUCTION: The current evidence indicates that the severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is lower in the pediatric population but local data are still limited. Objective: To characterize the clinical and epidemiological aspects of COVID-19 infection in patients younger than 18 years in Argentina. POPULATION AND METHODS: Cross-sectional, observational, and analytical study of confirmed COVID-19 patients aged 0-18 years seen between March 2020 and March 2021 at 19 referral children's hospitals of Argentina. A multivariate analysis was done to identify predictors of severe cases. RESULTS: A total of 2690 COVID-19 cases were included: 77.7% lived in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires; 50.1% were males; patients' median age was 5.6 years. Of them, 90% were seen during epidemiological weeks 20-47 of 2020; 60.4% had a history of contact with COVID-19 patients; and 96.6% in their family setting. Also, 51.4% had respiratory symptoms; 61.6%, general symptoms; 18.8%, gastrointestinal symptoms; 17.1%, neurological symptoms; 7.2%, other symptoms; and 21.5% were asymptomatic. In addition, 59.4% of patients were hospitalized and 7.4% had a severe or critical course. A total of 57 patients developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome. A history of asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital heart disease, moderate to severe malnutrition, obesity, chronic neurological disease and/or age younger than 6 months were independent predictors of severity. Living in a vulnerable neighborhood was a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of cases referred a history of contact with COVID-19 patients in the family setting. Hospitalization was not based on clinical criteria of severity. Severity was associated with the presence of certain comorbidities.
Entities:
Keywords:
COVID-19; child; coronavirus infections; multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
Authors: Miguel Ángel Molina Gutiérrez; Lara Sánchez Trujillo; José Antonio Ruiz Domínguez; Ignacio Callejas Caballero; Beatríz García Cuartero; María Ángeles García-Herrero; María Jesús Pascual Marcos; José Tomás Ramos Amador; Carmen Martínez Del Río; María de Ceano-Vivas La Calle Journal: Arch Bronconeumol Date: 2022-06-10 Impact factor: 6.333
Authors: Angela Gentile; María Del Valle Juarez; María Florencia Lucion; María Natalia Pejito; Sofia Alexay; Ana Sofia Orqueda; Lucia Romero Bollon; Alicia Mistchenko Journal: Pediatr Infect Dis J Date: 2022-07-13 Impact factor: 3.806