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Review
. 2022 May 11:10:894204.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.894204. eCollection 2022.

Post COVID-19 Condition in Children and Adolescents: An Emerging Problem

Jon Izquierdo-Pujol  1 , Sara Moron-Lopez  1   2 , Judith Dalmau  1 , Alba Gonzalez-Aumatell  3 , Clara Carreras-Abad  3 , Maria Mendez  3 , Carlos Rodrigo  3 , Javier Martinez-Picado  1   2   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Post COVID-19 Condition in Children and Adolescents: An Emerging Problem

Jon Izquierdo-Pujol et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection became a pandemic in 2020 and by March 2022 had caused more than 479 million infections and 6 million deaths worldwide. Several acute and long-term symptoms have been reported in infected adults, but it remains unclear whether children/adolescents also experience persistent sequelae. Hence, we conducted a review of symptoms and pathophysiology associated with post-coronavirus disease 2019 (post-COVID-19) condition in children and adolescents. We reviewed the scientific literature for reports on persistent COVID-19 symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection in both children/adolescents and adults from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2022 (based on their originality and relevance to the broad scope of this review, 26 reports were included, 8 focused on adults and 18 on children/adolescents). Persistent sequelae of COVID-19 are less common in children/adolescents than in adults, possibly owing to a lower frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to the lower impact of the infection itself in this age group. However, cumulative evidence has shown prolonged COVID-19 to be a clinical entity, with few pathophysiological associations at present. The most common post-COVID-19 symptoms in children/adolescents are fatigue, lack of concentration, and muscle pain. In addition, we found evidence of pathophysiology associated with fatigue and/or headache, persistent loss of smell and cough, and neurological and/or cardiovascular symptoms. This review highlights the importance of unraveling why SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause post-COVID-19 condition and how persistent symptoms might affect the physical, social, and psychological well-being of young people in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19; adolescents; children; long-COVID-19; long-haul COVID; post COVID-19 condition; post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Diagram comparing the frequencies of acute and post-COVID-19 condition between adults and children/adolescents (–, , , –, –44).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Diagram representing specific and shared symptoms of acute and post-COVID-19 condition in children and adolescents.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Diagram showing potential pathophysiological mechanisms of post-COVID-19 condition symptoms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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