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Case Reports
. 2020 Dec 18;20(1):561.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02471-5.

COVID-19 and children with Down syndrome: is there any real reason to worry? Two case reports with severe course

Ahmad Kantar  1 , Angelo Mazza  2 , Ezio Bonanomi  3 , Marta Odoni  4 , Manuela Seminara  4 , Ilaria Dalla Verde  4 , Camillo Lovati  4 , Stefania Bolognini  4 , Lorenzo D'Antiga  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

COVID-19 and children with Down syndrome: is there any real reason to worry? Two case reports with severe course

Ahmad Kantar et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by a series of immune dysregulations, of which interferon hyperreactivity is important, as it is responsible for surging antiviral responses and the possible initiation of an amplified cytokine storm. This biological condition is attributed to immune regulators encoded in chromosome 21. Moreover, DS is also characterized by the coexistence of obesity and cardiovascular and respiratory anomalies, which are risk factors for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Case presentation: A total of 55 children were admitted to the pediatric ward in Bergamo, between February and May 2020 for COVID-19. Here, we describe the cases of two children with DS and a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who had a severe course. In addition, both cases involved one or more comorbidities, including cardiovascular anomalies, obesity, and/or obstructive sleep apnea.

Conclusions: Our observations indicate that children with DS are at risk for severe COVID-19 disease course.

Keywords: Case report; Children; Coronavirus disease; Down syndrome; Trisomy 21.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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