1. COVID-19 in children ranging from asymptomatic to a multi-system inflammatory disease: A single-center study.
- Author
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Shahin, Walaa, Rabie, Walaa, Alyossof, Osama, Alasiri, Mohammed, Alfaki, Mohamed, Mahmoud, Elamin, Hijazi, Muwaffak, Faraidi, Huda El, and Alahmari, Hassan
- Subjects
COVID-19 ,SYMPTOMS ,LYMPHOPENIA ,LACTATE dehydrogenase ,LENGTH of stay in hospitals - Abstract
Objectives: To identify clinical and laboratory characteristics of the Saudi children with confirmed COVID-19. Methods: Eighty-eight children (0-14 years) with COVID-19 who were admitted to Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from April to June 2020 were recruited. Results: Mean age was 5.74 ± 4.7 years with 41 (49.4%) males and 42 (50.6%) females. The length of hospital stay (LOS) ranged from 1 to 17 days. The main source of infection was infected family members. Mean values of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were noticeably above normal. Degree of severity and length of stay was significantly correlated with lymphopenia (r= -0.36; p=0.001), whereas it was positively correlated with absolute neutrophil count and with high inflammatory markers, such as CRP, LDH, and others. Conclusions: Identifying the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the Saudi children with confirmed COVID-19 will improve understanding of this disease's presentation and will help put rapid and proper management strategies into place to face this pandemic. A high index of suspicion is needed for cases presenting with multi-system inflammatory disease, which represented 5.7% of the included study population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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