The different manifestations of COVID-19 in adults and children: a cohort study in an intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has collapsed health systems worldwide. In adults, the virus causes severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), while in children the disease seems to be milder, although a severe multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) has been described. The aim was to describe and compare the characteristics of the severe COVID-19 disease in adults and children. METHODS: This prospective observational cohort study included the young adults and children infected with SARS-CoV-2 between March-June 2020 and admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit. The two populations were analysed and compared focusing on their clinical and analytical characteristics and outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty patients were included. There were 16 adults (80%) and 4 children (20%). No mortality was recorded. All the adults were admitted due to ARDS. The median age was 32 years (IQR 23.3-41.5) and the most relevant previous pathology was obesity (n = 7, 43.7%). Thirteen (81.3%) needed mechanical ventilation, with a median PEEP of 13 (IQR 10.5-14.5). Six (37.5%) needed inotropic support due to the sedation. Eight (50%) developed a healthcare-associated infection, the most frequent of which was central line-associated bloodstream infection (n = 7, 71.4%). One patient developed a partial pulmonary thromboembolism, despite him being treated with heparin. All the children were admitted due to MIS-C. Two (50%) required mechanical ventilation. All needed inotropic support, with a median vasoactive-inotropic score of 27.5 (IQR 17.5-30). The difference in the inotropic requirements between the two populations was statistically significant (37.5% vs. 100%, p < 0.001). The biomarker values were higher in children than in adults: mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin 1.72 vs. 0.78 nmol/L (p = 0.017), procalcitonin 5.7 vs. 0.19 ng/mL (p = 0.023), and C-reactive protein 328.2 vs. 146.9 mg/L (p = 0.005). N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and troponins were higher in children than in adults (p = 0.034 and p = 0.039, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Adults and children had different clinical manifestations. Adults developed severe ARDS requiring increased respiratory support, whereas children presented MIS-C with greater inotropic requirements. Biomarkers could be helpful in identifying susceptible patients, since they might change depending on the clinical features.

Lung ultrasound findings in pediatric patients with COVID-19.

During the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), lung ultrasound has been used to diagnose and monitor respiratory condition. The aim of the study was to describe lung ultrasound findings in children with a COVID-19 infection. Patients younger than 18 years old and positive for COVID-19, admitted to pediatric tertiary referral hospital were included. They were divided into two groups depending on the presence of respiratory symptoms. Lung ultrasound results were categorized into four degrees according to Soldati et al. score (J Ultrasound Med 39:1-7, 2020) and it was also described the presence and type of consolidation. Sixteen patients were recruited. The median age was 11 years old (IQR 2.8-12). Four children (25%) required admission to the intensive care unit. Six patients (37.5%) presented with respiratory symptoms. Most of them showed S.score of 2 and subpleural consolidations were observed in four cases (66.6%). Ten patients (62.5%) presented with non-respiratory symptoms, lung ultrasound showed S.score from 0 to 2. Three (30%) were diagnosed of multisystem inflammatory syndrome and lung ultrasounds showed S.score of 2 with bilateral pleural effusion.Conclusions: Children with COVID-19 and respiratory symptoms mostly showed a S.score of 2 and 3 with subpleural consolidations, upon the lung ultrasound assessment. What is Known: • Lung ultrasound is a useful tool for monitoring patients with respiratory symptoms in both adults and children. Lung ultrasounds are altered in adult patients with COVID-19. What is New: • Lung ultrasound might improve COVID-19 assessment, it could be a useful tool to diagnose and monitor patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Even COVID-19 patients with non-respiratory symptoms have lung alterations that are visible on lung ultrasound.

Infection what else? The usefulness of procalcitonin in children after cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Procalcitonin is a useful biomarker for predicting bacterial infection after cardiac surgery. However, sometimes procalcitonin rises following cardiac surgery without a confirmation of bacterial infection. The aim was to analyse procalcitonin levels in children without a bacterial infection after cardiac surgery. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective, observational study of children <18 years old admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. RESULTS: 1,042 children were included, 996 (95.6%) without a bacterial infection. From them, severe complications occurred in 132 patients (13.3%). Procalcitonin increased differentially depending on the type of complication. Patients who presented a poor outcome (n = 26, 2.6%) had higher procalcitonin values in the postoperative period than the rest of patients (<24 hours: 5.8 ng/mL vs. 0.6 ng/mL; 24-48 hours, 5.1 ng/mL vs. 0.8 ng/mL, and 48-72 hours, 5.3 ng/mL vs. 1.2 ng/mL), but these values remained stable over time (p = 0.732; p = 0.110). The AUC for procalcitonin for predicting poor outcome was 0.876 in the first 24 hours. The cut-off point to predict poor outcome was 2 ng/mL in the first 24 hours (sensitivity 86.9%, specificity 77.3%). Patients with bacterial infection (n = 46) presented higher values of procalcitonin initially, but they decreased in the 48-72 hours period (<24 hours: 4.9 ng/mL; 24-48 hours, 5.8 ng/mL, and 48-72 hours, 4.5 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS: A procalcitonin value<2 ng/mL may indicate the absence of infection and poor outcome after cardiac surgery. The evolution of the values of this biomarker might help to discern between infection (where procalcitonin will decrease) and poor outcome (where procalcitonin will not decrease).

Glutamine effects on heat shock protein 70 and interleukines 6 and 10: Randomized trial of glutamine supplementation versus standard parenteral nutrition in critically ill children.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To determine whether glutamine (Gln) supplementation would have a role modifying both the oxidative stress and the inflammatory response of critically ill children. METHODS: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, interventional clinical trial. Selection criteria were children requiring parenteral nutrition for at least 5 days diagnosed with severe sepsis or post major surgery. Patients were randomly assigned to standard parenteral nutrition (SPN, 49 subjects) or standard parenteral nutrition with glutamine supplementation (SPN + Gln, 49 subjects). RESULTS: Glutamine levels failed to show statistical differences between groups. At day 5, patients in the SPN + Gln group had significantly higher levels of HSP-70 (heat shock protein 70) as compared with the SPN group (68.6 vs 5.4, p = 0.014). In both groups, IL-6 (interleukine 6) levels showed a remarkable descent from baseline and day 2 (SPN: 42.24 vs 9.39, p < 0.001; SPN + Gln: 35.20 vs 13.80, p < 0.001) but only the treatment group showed a statistically significant decrease between day 2 and day 5 (13.80 vs 10.55, p = 0.013). Levels of IL-10 (interleukine 10) did not vary among visits except in the SPN between baseline and day 2 (9.55 vs 5.356, p < 0.001). At the end of the study, no significant differences between groups for PICU and hospital stay were observed. No adverse events were detected in any group. CONCLUSIONS: Glutamine supplementation in critically-ill children contributed to maintain high HSP-70 levels for longer. Glutamine supplementation had no influence on IL-10 and failed to show a significant reduction of IL-6 levels.