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Introduction: At 11:20 on 26 May 2018, a physician from Lianyungang No. 1 People’s Hospital, China, reported that six family members were being treated in the hospital with symptoms from an unknown cause. Methods: A case series for a food poisoning investigation and an environmental survey were conducted. The patients and their relatives were interviewed in person with a questionnaire contained on a digital tablet, and an investigation of the patients’ home was conducted in the presence of police officers. Probable case and confirmed case were defined to serve as a basis for identifying additional cases. Confirmed cases were defined as those probable cases in which blood, stool or vomitus specimens tested positive for paliperidone palmitate and/or its metabolites. A descriptive analysis was performed. Follow-up by telephone was conducted four months later. Results: There were six probable cases. The median age was 35 years (range: 5–76 years). The attack rate was 100% (n = 6/6) of persons who consumed a family dinner, and the hospitalization rate was also 100% (n = 6/6). The median period between exposure and symptom onset was two hours. The main symptoms included vomiting, nausea, drowsiness, dizziness and severe abdominal pain for adults, and vomiting and severe lethargy for children. An 8-year-old girl further showed changes in the ST segment of her electrocardiogram, and a 5-year-old boy showed QT prolongation. The poisoning substance was suspected to be paliperidone palmitate based on the patients’ symptoms and epidemiological findings. Discussion: We investigated the household food poisoning outbreak through epidemiological analysis and an environmental investigation and determined that it was caused by paliperidone palmitate. The source of the paliperidone palmitate was found to be aluminium containers, taken home by the eldest son who worked at a pharmaceutical company. The containers were sent to a drug disposal centre, and the pharmaceutical company was required to enhance the regulation on the pharmaceutical waste materials to prevent drug poisoning events. By the end of September 2018, the six patients recovered and were released from the hospital, and they did not show any clinical sequelae in four follow-up visits.

Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus infection pneumonia in Wuhan City, China, in late 2019, such cases have been gradually reported in other parts of China and abroad. Children have become susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) because of their immature immune function. As the outbreak has progressed, more cases of novel coronavirus infection/pneumonia in children have been reported. Compared with adults, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is less severe, with a lower incidence and susceptibility in children, which results in fewer children being tested, thereby underestimating the actual number of infections. Therefore, strengthening the diagnosis of the disease is particularly important for children, and early and clear diagnosis can determine treatment strategies and reduce the harm caused by the disease to children. According to the Novel Coronavirus Infection Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Standards (trial version 7) issued by National Health Committee and the latest diagnosis and treatment strategies for novel coronavirus infection pneumonia in children, this review summarizes current strategies on diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children.