Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Med J. 2021 Apr;42(4):391-398. doi: 10.15537/smj.2021.42.4.20210011.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the demographic and clinical characteristics, underlying comorbidities, and outcomes of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we reported 62 pediatric patients (age <14 years) with confirmed COVID-19 between March 2 and July 1, 2020, at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Results: Comorbid conditions, including cardiac, neurological, respiratory, and malignant disorders, were reported in 9 patients (14.5%). The most prominent presenting complaints were fever (80.6%) and cough (48.4%). Most of our patients (80.6%) had mild disease, 11.3% had moderate disease, and 8.1% exhibited severe and critical illness. Twenty-one patients (33.9%) were hospitalized, with 4 patients (6.5%) admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, and 3 (4.8%) patients died.

Conclusion: All pediatric age groups are susceptible to COVID-19, with no gender difference. COVID-19 infection may result in critical illness and even mortality in subsets of pediatric patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; children; clinical characteristics; comorbidities.

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Pain / physiopathology
  • Adolescent
  • Asthma / epidemiology
  • Atrophy
  • Brain / pathology
  • Bronchiolitis Obliterans / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / blood
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / physiopathology*
  • COVID-19 / therapy
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Comorbidity
  • Cough / physiopathology
  • Diarrhea / physiopathology
  • Dyspnea / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Fever / physiopathology
  • Heart Defects, Congenital / epidemiology
  • Hospital Mortality
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • Hydrocephalus / epidemiology
  • Infant
  • Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
  • Male
  • Pharyngitis / physiopathology
  • Respiration, Artificial
  • Respiratory Insufficiency / physiopathology
  • Respiratory Insufficiency / therapy
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Rhinorrhea / physiopathology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Vomiting / physiopathology