Association of Blood Groups with the Severity and Outcome of COVID-19 Infection in Children.

The objective of this study was to find out the association of ABO blood groups with the severity and outcome of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children. It included all laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and post-COVID multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)/ Kawasaki disease (KD) like illness, admitted from March to September, 2020 to The Children's Hospital, Lahore. Out of 66 children, 45 (68.2%) were COVID-19 and 21 (31.8%) MIS-C/KD temporally associated with SARS-C0V-2. The mean age was 7.9 ± 4.2 years. Majority of children had mild to moderate illness 38 (57.6%), while 23 (34.8%) had severe or critical disease. Among all patients, 24 (36.4%) had some underlying comorbidity. Blood group A was significantly associated with severe and critical disease (p=0.030). COVID-19 in children had generally a good outcome, but children with blood group A were more susceptible to severe/critical disease. Key Words: Coronavirus disease 2019, ABO blood groups, Children, Severity, Outcome.