Duration of COVID-19 symptoms in children: a longitudinal study in a Rio de Janeiro favela, Brazil

Abstract

Objectives COVID-19 in children is generally of short duration, but some may take longer to recover. This study investigated the time to symptom resolution following SARS-CoV-2 infection among children in a community setting on the outskirts of an urban centre in Brazil.Design Prospective cohort study.Setting This is a community-based cohort of children living in Manguinhos, a favela in Rio de Janeiro. The cohort was followed through home visits and telephone monitoring of symptoms. The analysis focused on symptomatic children from this cohort with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recovery time was defined as the interval between the first date with symptoms and the first date without symptoms following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.Participants A total of 1276 children (boys and girls aged 2–<14 years) were recruited between 2020 and 2022, with 253 testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. The inclusion criterion was SARS-CoV-2-positive children, while the exclusion criteria were loss to follow-up and asymptomatic cases during the acute phase of COVID-19.Outcome measure COVID-19 recovery time, assessed based on change points on the symptom persistence probability curve (Kaplan-Meier).Results Among children who tested positive, 148 (60%) were symptomatic. The median recovery time was 11 days (IQR: 7–16). Two inflection points were identified on the Kaplan-Meier curve: days 16 and 34. Children who were ill during the Omicron wave took longer to recover. More boys became asymptomatic within the first 15 days; about 93% of girls recovered by day 33, and boys were more common among those who recovered in ≥34 days. Children aged 6–<14 years often recovered within 2 weeks; however, both this group and the 2–<6 years group constituted the majority of those with delayed recovery.Conclusions Among children from a vulnerable area in Rio de Janeiro, recovery time was longer than that reported in other countries, with 9.5% of children experiencing persistent symptoms for more than 33 days. These findings are crucial for understanding the implications of COVID-19 in specific socioeconomic contexts and the dynamics of paediatric recovery in community settings.