• ABSTRACTS

The impact of the COVID-19 on the pediatric population during the first 6 months pandemic – epidemiological study in a non COVID hospital

Spatariu Luminița^1,2, Eugenia Buzoianu^1,2, Sorina Chindriș^1,2, Doina Anca Pleșca^1,2

1. University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”,
2. “Dr. Victor Gomoiu” Children’s Clinical Hospital

Abstract: The entire world has been facing the challenge of the new Pandemic with its epicenter in Wuhan, China, since December 2019. Current knowledge about SARS CoV-2 infection is still in its infancy and many questions have been awaiting an answer, but what is apparently obvious, at least so far, is the low incidence of the disease among the pediatric population.

Thus, there is a need for sustained global and unitary efforts to define the clinical and immunological profile of the pediatric patient infected with SARS CoV-2. In order to present the experience of the Children’s Clinical Hospital „Dr. Victor Gomoiu”, Bucharest, Romania, which was declared as a support hospital for non-infectious pediatric pathology COVID-19, we have conducted a observational study that included 23 pediatric patients (0-18 years) confirmed with infection with the new Coronavirus. The evaluation of the confirmed pediatric cases with SARS CoV-2 infection admitted in the hospital in the first 6 months after the declaration of the pandemic (11.03-09.09.2020), has been aiming to establish the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and to highlight the peculiarities of SARS CoV-2 infection in children in the study group. The results obtained from the study have shown a low incidence of the COVID-19 infection (1.2%) among the pediatric population but noticing the slightly upward trend starting with August 2020. There has been also a slight predominance of males, among confirmed positive patients (56.5%), and in terms of the most frequently affected age group, it has been observed a higher number of cases in patients aged under 5 years (86.9%). Analyzing the clinical data of patients included in the study group, it has been observed that, they generally have forms of disease with mild or medium severity. The most common symptom in patients infected with SARS CoV-2 is fever (73,9%), either as a single symptom (21.7%) or associated with other digestive, respiratory, cutaneous or neurological manifestations (52.1%). A peculiarity of the clinical evolution of the SARS CoV-2 infection in children, is represented by the presence of some digestive manifestations (abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea) in 39.1%; at the same time, from a paraclinical point of view, a clear difference compared to the cases of the SARS CoV-2 infection in adults, is the absence of inflammatory biological syndrome in a high percentage of infection in children (above 50% of patients included in the study) and the presence of lymphopenia in only 20% of children evaluated. Further research is needed to more clearly outline the clinical and immunological profile of the pediatric patients infected with the SARS CoV-2.

Keywords:  children, coronavirus, epidemiology, clinical aspects, pandemic, SARS-CoV-2