High Prevalence of Alternative Diagnoses in Children and Adolescents with Suspected Long COVID—A Single Center Cohort Study
Sarah C. Goretzki,
Maire Brasseler,
Burcin Dogan,
Tom Hühne,
Daniel Bernard,
Anne Schönecker,
Mathis Steindor,
Andrea Gangfuß,
Adela Della Marina,
Ursula Felderhoff-Müser,
Christian Dohna-Schwake,
Nora Bruns
Affiliations
Sarah C. Goretzki
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Maire Brasseler
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Burcin Dogan
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Tom Hühne
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Daniel Bernard
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Anne Schönecker
Department of Pediatrics III, Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Mathis Steindor
Department of Pediatrics III, Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Andrea Gangfuß
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Adela Della Marina
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Ursula Felderhoff-Müser
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Christian Dohna-Schwake
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Nora Bruns
Department of Pediatrics I, Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Infectiology, Pediatric Neurology, University Duisburg-Essen, Children’s Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Background: Long COVID (LC) is a diagnosis that requires exclusion of alternative somatic and mental diseases. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of differential diagnoses in suspected pediatric LC patients and assess whether adult LC symptom clusters are applicable to pediatric patients. Materials and Methods: Pediatric presentations at the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department of the University Hospital Essen (Germany) were assessed retrospectively. The correlation of initial symptoms and final diagnoses (LC versus other diseases or unclarified) was assessed. The sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of adult LC symptom clusters were calculated. Results: Of 110 patients, 32 (29%) suffered from LC, 52 (47%) were diagnosed with alternative somatic/mental diseases, and 26 (23%) remained unclarified. Combined neurological and respiratory clusters displayed a sensitivity of 0.97 (95% CI 0.91–1.00) and a negative predictive value of 0.97 (0.92–1.00) for LC. Discussion/Conclusions: The prevalence of alternative somatic and mental diseases in pediatric patients with suspected LC is high. The range of underlying diseases is wide, including chronic and potentially life-threatening conditions. Neurological and respiratory symptom clusters may help to identify patients that are unlikely to be suffering from LC.
