The clinical characteristics of pediatric inpatients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection: A meta‐analysis and systematic review

June 19, 2020

Xuefeng Ma, Shousheng Liu, Lizhen Chen, Likun Zhuang, Jie Zhang, Yongning Xin

Journal of Medical Virology

The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the clinical characteristics of pediatric patients hospitalized with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome due to Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).The search was made in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, including studies published from January 1 to April 21 2020, that included more than five pediatric hospitalized patients.The results obtained showed that fever (46%) and cough (42%) were the main clinical characteristics of pediatric patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the other clinical characteristics, such as diarrhea, vomiting, nasal congestion, and fatigue accounted for 10% in hospitalized pediatric patients. The proportion of asymptomatic cases was 0.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27-0.59) and that of severe cases 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01-0.06). In laboratory results, leukopenia (21%) and lymphocytosis (22%) were found as main indicators, followed by high aspartate aminotransferase (19%), lymphopenia (16%), high alanine aminotransferase (15%), high C-protein reactive (17%), leukocytosis (13%), elevated D-dimer (12%), and elevated creatine kinase MB (5%). Regarding the characteristics of the chest images, a unilateral (22%) and bilateral (22%) pattern was found.From the results obtained, it is concluded that, compared to hospitalized adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalized pediatric patients had mild clinical characteristics, laboratory test indicators, and chest imaging characteristics. Further clinical studies focusing on pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in other countries are recommended.

Ma X, Liu S, Chen L, Zhuang L, Zhang J, Xin Y. The clinical characteristics of pediatric inpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A meta-analysis and systematic review. J Med Virol. Doi: 10.1002/jmv.26208

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