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. 2020 Nov;31 Suppl 26(Suppl 26):85-88.
doi: 10.1111/pai.13356.

Upper airway involvement in pediatric COVID-19

Giuseppe Fabio Parisi  1 , Giulia Brindisi  2 , Cristiana Indolfi  3 , Lucia Diaferio  4 , Giuseppe Marchese  5 , Daniele G Ghiglioni  6 , Anna Maria Zicari  2 , Michele Miraglia Del Giudice  3
Affiliations

Upper airway involvement in pediatric COVID-19

Giuseppe Fabio Parisi et al. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

The clinical spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 infection is mixed. It ranges from asymptomatic cases, medium-intensity forms with mild to moderate symptoms, to severe ones with bilateral lung involvement and respiratory distress, which can require transfer to ICUs and intubation. In most cases, the clinical picture is characterized by a persistent fever, cough, dyspnoea, expectoration, myalgias, arthralgias, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, nasal congestion, and pharyngodynia. The spread of COVID-19 in Europe has highlighted an atypical presentation of disease involving upper airways and, above all, dysfunction of olfactory and gustatory senses. There is ample evidence that COVID-19 is significantly less severe in children than in adults. However, due to difficulties in assessing the disorder in children, especially among very young patients, the olfaction and gustatory dysfunctions remain open issues. This article sheds light on the upper airway involvement in pediatric COVID-19 subjects.

Keywords: COVID-19; Children; ageusia; anosmia; coronavirus; upper airway.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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