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. 2020 Aug;55(8):1892-1899.
doi: 10.1002/ppul.24885. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

Clinical manifestations of children with COVID-19: A systematic review

Tiago H de Souza  1 , José A Nadal  1 , Roberto J N Nogueira  1   2 , Ricardo M Pereira  1 , Marcelo B Brandão  1
Affiliations

Clinical manifestations of children with COVID-19: A systematic review

Tiago H de Souza et al. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is an unprecedented global public health challenge, leading to thousands of deaths every day worldwide. Despite the epidemiological importance, clinical patterns of children with COVID-19 remain unclear. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, laboratorial, and radiological characteristics of children with COVID-19.

Methods: The Medline database was searched between December 1st 2019 and April 6th 2020. No language restrictions were applied. Inclusion criteria were (a) studied patients younger than 18 years old; (b) presented original data from cases of COVID-19 confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction; and (c) contained descriptions of clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, or radiological examinations.

Results: A total of 38 studies (1124 cases) were included. From all the cases, 1117 had their severity classified: 14.2% were asymptomatic, 36.3% were mild, 46.0% were moderate, 2.1% were severe, and 1.2% were critical. The most prevalent symptom was fever (47.5%), followed by cough (41.5%), nasal symptoms (11.2%), diarrhea (8.1%), and nausea/vomiting (7.1%). One hundred forty-five (36.9%) children were diagnosed with pneumonia and 43 (10.9%) upper airway infections were reported. Reduced lymphocyte count was reported in 12.9% of cases. Abnormalities in computed tomography were reported in 63.0% of cases. The most prevalent abnormalities reported were ground-glass opacities, patchy shadows, and consolidations. Only one death was reported.

Conclusions: Clinical manifestations of children with COVID-19 differ widely from adult cases. Fever and respiratory symptoms should not be considered a hallmark of COVID-19 in children.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; children; coronavirus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram for study selection. PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta‐Analysis [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Severity of illness of the reported cases. COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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