Characteristics and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 in children tested in the early phase of the pandemic: a cross-sectional study, Italy, 23 February to 24 May 2020.
Euro Surveill
; 26(14)2021 04.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33834960
ABSTRACT
BackgroundVery few studies describe factors associated with COVID-19 diagnosis in children.AimWe here describe characteristics and risk factors for COVID-19 diagnosis in children tested in 20 paediatric centres across Italy.MethodsWe included cases aged 0-18 years tested between 23 February and 24 May 2020. Our primary analysis focused on children tested because of symptoms/signs suggestive of COVID-19.ResultsAmong 2,494 children tested, 2,148 (86.1%) had symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. Clinical presentation of confirmed COVID-19 cases included besides fever (82.4%) and respiratory signs or symptoms (60.4%) also gastrointestinal (18.2%), neurological (18.9%), cutaneous (3.8%) and other unspecific influenza-like presentations (17.8%). In multivariate analysis, factors significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity were exposure history (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 39.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) 17.52-90.55; p < 0.0001), cardiac disease (AOR 3.10; 95% CI 1.19-5.02; p < 0.0001), fever (AOR 3.05%; 95% CI 1.67-5.58; p = 0.0003) and anosmia/ageusia (AOR 4.08; 95% CI 1.69-9.84; p = 0.002). Among 190 (7.6%) children positive for SARS-CoV-2, only four (2.1%) required respiratory support and two (1.1%) were admitted to intensive care; all recovered.ConclusionRecommendations for SARS-CoV-2 testing in children should consider the evidence of broader clinical features. Exposure history, fever and anosmia/ageusia are strong risk factors in children for positive SARS-CoV-2 testing, while other symptoms did not help discriminate positive from negative individuals. This study confirms that COVID-19 was a mild disease in the general paediatric population in Italy. Further studies are needed to understand risk, clinical spectrum and outcomes of COVID-19 in children with pre-existing conditions.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Pandemias
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Prueba de COVID-19
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COVID-19
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
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Etiology_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adolescent
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Newborn
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article