Diagnosis and Acute Management of COVID-19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.

ABSTRACT: Most children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection are asymptomatic or have mild disease. About 5% of infected children will develop severe or critical disease. Rapid identification and treatment are essential for children who are critically ill with signs and symptoms of respiratory failure, septic shock, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. This article is intended for pediatricians, pediatric emergency physicians, and individuals involved in the emergency care of children. It reviews the current epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in children, summarizes key aspects of clinical assessment including identification of high-risk patients and manifestations of severe disease, and provides an overview of COVID-19 management in the emergency department based on clinical severity.

Combating information chaos: a case for collaborative clinical guidelines in a pandemic.

The speed and scale of new information during the COVID-19 pandemic required a new approach toward developing best practices and evidence-based clinical guidance. To address this need, we produced COVIDProtocols.org, a collaborative, evidence-based, digital platform for the development and dissemination of COVID-19 clinical guidelines that has been used by over 500,000 people from 196 countries. We use a Collaborative Writing Application (CWA) to facilitate an expedited expert review process and a web platform that deploys content directly from the CWA to minimize any delays. Over 200 contributors have volunteered to create open creative-commons content that spans over 30 specialties and medical disciplines. Multiple local and national governments, hospitals, and clinics have used the site as a key resource for their own clinical guideline development. COVIDprotocols.org represents a model for efficiently launching open-access clinical guidelines during crisis situations to share expertise and combat misinformation.