Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2023 Jan-Dec;65(1):e15565.
doi: 10.1111/ped.15565.

Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in hospitalized young infants and risk factors for disease severity

David Chun-Ern Ng  1 , Kah Kee Tan  2 , Chuin Hen Liew  3 , Yik Wan Low  1 , Ling Chin  1 , Munzir Bin Jamil  1 , Debashini A/P Chandirasekharan  1 , Suhaila Binti Baharuddin  4 , Yee Keat Cheah  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in hospitalized young infants and risk factors for disease severity

David Chun-Ern Ng et al. Pediatr Int. 2023 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and severity of young infants hospitalized with COVID-19 and study the relationship between breastfeeding and maternal COVID-19 vaccination on the severity of COVID-19.

Methods: A retrospective, observational study was performed among infants aged 6 months and below hospitalized for COVID-19 in a tertiary state hospital in Malaysia between February 1 and April 30, 2022. The primary outcome was "serious disease," defined as pneumonia requiring respiratory support or dehydration with warning signs. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors for serious disease.

Results: A total of 102 infants were included in the study; 53.9% were males with a median age of 11 weeks (interquartile range: 5-20 weeks). Sixteen patients (15.7%) had pre-existing comorbidities, including preterm birth. Fever was the most common presenting symptom (82.4%), followed by cough (53.9%), and rhinorrhea (31.4%). Forty-one infants (40.2%) presented with serious disease, warranting either respiratory support or intravenous fluid therapy for dehydration. Recent maternal COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a reduced risk of serious disease on univariate analysis but was not significant after multivariate adjustment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.39; 95% CI: 0.14-1.11; p = 0.08). Exclusive breastfeeding was protective against serious COVID-19 in young infants, independent of other confounding factors (aOR 0.21, 95% CI: 0.06-0.71; p = 0.01).

Conclusion: COVID-19 is a serious disease with non-specific clinical manifestations in young infants. Exclusive breastfeeding could play an important protective role.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; COVID-19; infant; predictors; serious disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Vos-Kerkhof E, Gomez B, Milcent K, Steyerberg EW, Nijman RG, Smit FJ, et al. Clinical prediction models for young febrile infants at the emergency department: an international validation study. Arch Dis Child. 2018;103:1033-41.
    1. Parri N, Magista AM, Marchetti F, Cantoni B, Arrighini A, Romanengo M, et al. Characteristic of COVID-19 infection in pediatric patients: early findings from two Italian pediatric research networks. Eur J Pediatr. 2020;179:1315-23.
    1. Dong Y, Mo X, Hu Y, Qi X, Jiang F, Jiang Z, et al. Epidemiology of COVID-19 among children in China. Pediatrics. 2020;145(6):e20200702.
    1. Hobbs CV, Woodworth K, Young CC, Jackson AM, Newhams MM, Dapul H, et al. Frequency, characteristics and complications of COVID-19 in hospitalized infants. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2022;41:e81-e6.
    1. Nir O, Schwartz A, Toussia-Cohen S, Leibovitch L, Strauss T, Asraf K, et al. Maternal-neonatal transfer of SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G antibodies among parturient women treated with BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccine during pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2022;4:100492.

Publication types

Substances