Viruses (Oct 2022)
COVID-19 in Infants Less than 3 Months: Severe or Not Severe Disease?
- Daniele Dona’,
- Carlotta Montagnani,
- Costanza Di Chiara,
- Elisabetta Venturini,
- Luisa Galli,
- Andrea Lo Vecchio,
- Marco Denina,
- Nicole Olivini,
- Eugenia Bruzzese,
- Andrea Campana,
- Roberta Giacchero,
- Filippo Salvini,
- Antonella Meini,
- Matteo Ponzoni,
- Sandra Trapani,
- Elena Rossi,
- Mary Haywood Lombardi,
- Raffaele Badolato,
- Luca Pierri,
- Giulia Pruccoli,
- Sara Rossin,
- Claudia Colomba,
- Salvatore Cazzato,
- Ilaria Pacati,
- Giangiacomo Nicolini,
- Luca Pierantoni,
- Sonia Bianchini,
- Andrzej Krzysztofiak,
- Silvia Garazzino,
- Carlo Giaquinto,
- Guido Castelli Gattinara,
- on behalf of The Italian SITIP-SIP Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection Study Group
Affiliations
- Daniele Dona’
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department for Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
- Carlotta Montagnani
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division, Anna Meyer Children’s University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
- Costanza Di Chiara
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department for Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
- Elisabetta Venturini
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division, Anna Meyer Children’s University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
- Luisa Galli
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division, Anna Meyer Children’s University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
- Andrea Lo Vecchio
- Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- Marco Denina
- Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Turin, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Nicole Olivini
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, UOC Pediatria Multispecialistica, Fiumicino, 00050 Rome, Italy
- Eugenia Bruzzese
- Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- Andrea Campana
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, UOC Pediatria Multispecialistica, Fiumicino, 00050 Rome, Italy
- Roberta Giacchero
- UOC Pediatria-ASST Lodi, 26900 Lodi, Italy
- Filippo Salvini
- Department of Pediatrics, Niguarda Hospital, 20162 Milan, Italy
- Antonella Meini
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, Pediatric Clinic, University of Brescia, 25121 Brescia, Italy
- Matteo Ponzoni
- Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Sandra Trapani
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division, Anna Meyer Children’s University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
- Elena Rossi
- UOC Pediatria-ASST Lodi, 26900 Lodi, Italy
- Mary Haywood Lombardi
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, UOC Pediatria Multispecialistica, Fiumicino, 00050 Rome, Italy
- Raffaele Badolato
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, Pediatric Clinic, University of Brescia, 25121 Brescia, Italy
- Luca Pierri
- Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- Giulia Pruccoli
- Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Turin, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Sara Rossin
- Pediatric Emergency Department, Department for Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
- Claudia Colomba
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy
- Salvatore Cazzato
- Paediatric Unit, Department of Mother and Child Health, Salesi Children’s Hospital, 60123 Ancona, Italy
- Ilaria Pacati
- Paediatric Unit, Ospedale Bolognini ASST Bergamo Est, 24068 Seriate, Italy
- Giangiacomo Nicolini
- Pediatric Unit, San Martino Hospital, 32100 Belluno, Italy
- Luca Pierantoni
- Medical and Surgical Science Department, S Orsola University Hospital, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Sonia Bianchini
- Pediatric Clinic, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06132 Perugia, Italy
- Andrzej Krzysztofiak
- Pediatric and Infectious Diseases Unit, Academic Department, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, 00146 Rome, Italy
- Silvia Garazzino
- Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Turin, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Carlo Giaquinto
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department for Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
- Guido Castelli Gattinara
- Universitarian-Hospital Department, Ospedale Bambino Gesù IRCCS, 00146 Rome, Italy
- on behalf of The Italian SITIP-SIP Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection Study Group
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/v14102256
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 14,
no. 10
p. 2256
Abstract
Compared to adults, severe or fatal COVID-19 disease is much less common in children. However, a higher risk for progression has been reported in infants. Different pediatric COVID-19 severity scores are reported in the literature. Methods: Subjects under 90 days of age admitted to 35 Italian institutions for COVID-19 were included. The severity of COVID-19 was scored as mild/moderate or severe/critical following the classification reported in the literature by Venturini, Dong, Kanburoglu, and Gale. To assess the diagnostic accuracy of each classification system, we stratified all enrolled patients developing a posteriori severity score based on clinical presentation and outcomes and then compared all different scores analyzed. Results: We included 216 infants below 90 days of age. The most common symptom was fever, followed by coryza, poor feeding, cough, and gastrointestinal manifestations. According to Venturini, Dong, Kanburoglu, and Gale’s severity scores, 18%, 6%, 4.2%, and 29.6% of infants presented with severe/critical disease, respectively. A correlation analysis between these four scores and the a posteriori severity score assigned to all enrolled subjects was performed, and a crescent strength of correlation from Gale (R = 0.355, p p p p < 0.001) was observed. Conclusions: The percentage of infants with severe COVID-19 varies widely according to the score systems. A unique clinical score should be designed for neonates and infants with COVID-19.
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