Journal of Clinical Medicine (Oct 2021)
Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of 1283 Pediatric Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 during the First and Second Waves of the Pandemic—Results of the Pediatric Part of a Multicenter Polish Register SARSTer
- Maria Pokorska-Śpiewak,
- Ewa Talarek,
- Anna Mania,
- Małgorzata Pawłowska,
- Jolanta Popielska,
- Konrad Zawadka,
- Magdalena Figlerowicz,
- Katarzyna Mazur-Melewska,
- Kamil Faltin,
- Przemysław Ciechanowski,
- Joanna Łasecka-Zadrożna,
- Józef Rudnicki,
- Barbara Hasiec,
- Martyna Stani,
- Paulina Frańczak-Chmura,
- Izabela Zaleska,
- Leszek Szenborn,
- Kacper Toczyłowski,
- Artur Sulik,
- Barbara Szczepańska,
- Ilona Pałyga-Bysiecka,
- Izabela Kucharek,
- Adam Sybilski,
- Małgorzata Sobolewska-Pilarczyk,
- Urszula Dryja,
- Ewa Majda-Stanisławska,
- Sławomira Niedźwiecka,
- Ernest Kuchar,
- Bolesław Kalicki,
- Anna Gorczyca,
- Magdalena Marczyńska
Affiliations
- Maria Pokorska-Śpiewak
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Medical University of Warsaw, 01-201 Warsaw, Poland
- Ewa Talarek
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Medical University of Warsaw, 01-201 Warsaw, Poland
- Anna Mania
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
- Małgorzata Pawłowska
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 85-030 Bydgoszcz, Poland
- Jolanta Popielska
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Medical University of Warsaw, 01-201 Warsaw, Poland
- Konrad Zawadka
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Medical University of Warsaw, 01-201 Warsaw, Poland
- Magdalena Figlerowicz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
- Katarzyna Mazur-Melewska
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
- Kamil Faltin
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
- Przemysław Ciechanowski
- Department of Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital in Szczecin, 71-455 Szczecin, Poland
- Joanna Łasecka-Zadrożna
- Department of Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital in Szczecin, 71-455 Szczecin, Poland
- Józef Rudnicki
- Department of Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital in Szczecin, 71-455 Szczecin, Poland
- Barbara Hasiec
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Provincial Jan Boży Hospital in Lublin, 20-089 Lublin, Poland
- Martyna Stani
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Provincial Jan Boży Hospital in Lublin, 20-089 Lublin, Poland
- Paulina Frańczak-Chmura
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Provincial Jan Boży Hospital in Lublin, 20-089 Lublin, Poland
- Izabela Zaleska
- Department of Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland
- Leszek Szenborn
- Department of Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland
- Kacper Toczyłowski
- Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland
- Artur Sulik
- Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland
- Barbara Szczepańska
- 1st Department of Pediatrics, Collegium Medicum Jan Kochanowski University, 25-317 Kielce, Poland
- Ilona Pałyga-Bysiecka
- 1st Department of Pediatrics, Collegium Medicum Jan Kochanowski University, 25-317 Kielce, Poland
- Izabela Kucharek
- 2nd Department of Paediatrics, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology with Allergology Center, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
- Adam Sybilski
- 2nd Department of Paediatrics, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology with Allergology Center, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
- Małgorzata Sobolewska-Pilarczyk
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 85-030 Bydgoszcz, Poland
- Urszula Dryja
- Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Lodz, 91-347 Lodz, Poland
- Ewa Majda-Stanisławska
- Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Lodz, 91-347 Lodz, Poland
- Sławomira Niedźwiecka
- Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Pomeranian Center of Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis in Gdansk, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland
- Ernest Kuchar
- Department of Paediatrics with Clinical Assessment Unit, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
- Bolesław Kalicki
- Department of Paediatrics, Paediatric Nephrology and Allergology, Military Institute of Medicine, 04-349 Warsaw, Poland
- Anna Gorczyca
- The Ward of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, The John Paul II Hospital in Krakow, 31-202 Krakow, Poland
- Magdalena Marczyńska
- Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Medical University of Warsaw, 01-201 Warsaw, Poland
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10215098
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 10,
no. 21
p. 5098
Abstract
This prospective multicenter cohort study aimed to analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children. The study, based on the pediatric part of the Polish SARSTer register, included 1283 children (0 to 18 years) who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2020. Household contact was reported in 56% of cases, more frequently in younger children. Fever was the most common symptom (46%). The youngest children (0–5 years) more frequently presented with fever, rhinitis and diarrhea. Teenagers more often complained of headache, sore throat, anosmia/ageusia and weakness. One fifth of patients were reported to be asymptomatic. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 12% of patients, more frequently in younger children. During the second wave patients were younger than during the first wave (median age 53 vs. 102 months, p p < 0.0001). Significantly fewer asymptomatic patients were noted and pneumonia as well as gastrointestinal symptoms were more common. The epidemiological characteristics of pediatric patients and the clinical presentation of COVID-19 are age-related. Younger children were more frequently infected by close relatives, more often suffered from pneumonia and gastrointestinal symptoms and required hospitalization. Clinical courses differed significantly during the first two waves of the pandemic.
Keywords
- children
- clinical presentation
- coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- epidemiology
- severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)