Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.
- Citation:
- Alnajjar, A. A., A. M. Dohain, G. A. Abdelmohsen, T. S. Alahmadi, Z. F. Zaher, and A. A. Abdelgalil, "Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.", Saudi medical journal, vol. 42, issue 4, pp. 391-398, 2021.
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: To determine the demographic and clinical characteristics, underlying comorbidities, and outcomes of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.
METHODS: In this retrospective study, we reported 62 pediatric patients (age <14 years) with confirmed COVID-19 between March 2 and July 1, 2020, at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
RESULTS: Comorbid conditions, including cardiac, neurological, respiratory, and malignant disorders, were reported in 9 patients (14.5%). The most prominent presenting complaints were fever (80.6%) and cough (48.4%). Most of our patients (80.6%) had mild disease, 11.3% had moderate disease, and 8.1% exhibited severe and critical illness. Twenty-one patients (33.9%) were hospitalized, with 4 patients (6.5%) admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, and 3 (4.8%) patients died.
CONCLUSION: All pediatric age groups are susceptible to COVID-19, with no gender difference. COVID-19 infection may result in critical illness and even mortality in subsets of pediatric patients.