Faculty Collaboration Database

Post-COVID-19 Conditions Among Children 90 Days After SARS-CoV-2 Infection. JAMA Netw Open 2022 Jul 01;5(7):e2223253

Date

07/23/2022

Pubmed ID

35867061

Pubmed Central ID

PMC9308058

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.23253

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85135066203 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   22 Citations

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Little is known about the risk factors for, and the risk of, developing post-COVID-19 conditions (PCCs) among children.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the proportion of SARS-CoV-2-positive children with PCCs 90 days after a positive test result, to compare this proportion with SARS-CoV-2-negative children, and to assess factors associated with PCCs.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This prospective cohort study, conducted in 36 emergency departments (EDs) in 8 countries between March 7, 2020, and January 20, 2021, included 1884 SARS-CoV-2-positive children who completed 90-day follow-up; 1686 of these children were frequency matched by hospitalization status, country, and recruitment date with 1701 SARS-CoV-2-negative controls.

EXPOSURE: SARS-CoV-2 detected via nucleic acid testing.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Post-COVID-19 conditions, defined as any persistent, new, or recurrent health problems reported in the 90-day follow-up survey.

RESULTS: Of 8642 enrolled children, 2368 (27.4%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive, among whom 2365 (99.9%) had index ED visit disposition data available; among the 1884 children (79.7%) who completed follow-up, the median age was 3 years (IQR, 0-10 years) and 994 (52.8%) were boys. A total of 110 SARS-CoV-2-positive children (5.8%; 95% CI, 4.8%-7.0%) reported PCCs, including 44 of 447 children (9.8%; 95% CI, 7.4%-13.0%) hospitalized during the acute illness and 66 of 1437 children (4.6%; 95% CI, 3.6%-5.8%) not hospitalized during the acute illness (difference, 5.3%; 95% CI, 2.5%-8.5%). Among SARS-CoV-2-positive children, the most common symptom was fatigue or weakness (21 [1.1%]). Characteristics associated with reporting at least 1 PCC at 90 days included being hospitalized 48 hours or more compared with no hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.67 [95% CI, 1.63-4.38]); having 4 or more symptoms reported at the index ED visit compared with 1 to 3 symptoms (4-6 symptoms: aOR, 2.35 [95% CI, 1.28-4.31]; ≥7 symptoms: aOR, 4.59 [95% CI, 2.50-8.44]); and being 14 years of age or older compared with younger than 1 year (aOR, 2.67 [95% CI, 1.43-4.99]). SARS-CoV-2-positive children were more likely to report PCCs at 90 days compared with those who tested negative, both among those who were not hospitalized (55 of 1295 [4.2%; 95% CI, 3.2%-5.5%] vs 35 of 1321 [2.7%; 95% CI, 1.9%-3.7%]; difference, 1.6% [95% CI, 0.2%-3.0%]) and those who were hospitalized (40 of 391 [10.2%; 95% CI, 7.4%-13.7%] vs 19 of 380 [5.0%; 95% CI, 3.0%-7.7%]; difference, 5.2% [95% CI, 1.5%-9.1%]). In addition, SARS-CoV-2 positivity was associated with reporting PCCs 90 days after the index ED visit (aOR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.14-2.35]), specifically systemic health problems (eg, fatigue, weakness, fever; aOR, 2.44 [95% CI, 1.19-5.00]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with reporting PCCs at 90 days in children. Guidance and follow-up are particularly necessary for hospitalized children who have numerous acute symptoms and are older.

Author List

Funk AL, Kuppermann N, Florin TA, Tancredi DJ, Xie J, Kim K, Finkelstein Y, Neuman MI, Salvadori MI, Yock-Corrales A, Breslin KA, Ambroggio L, Chaudhari PP, Bergmann KR, Gardiner MA, Nebhrajani JR, Campos C, Ahmad FA, Sartori LF, Navanandan N, Kannikeswaran N, Caperell K, Morris CR, Mintegi S, Gangoiti I, Sabhaney VJ, Plint AC, Klassen TP, Avva UR, Shah NP, Dixon AC, Lunoe MM, Becker SM, Rogers AJ, Pavlicich V, Dalziel SR, Payne DC, Malley R, Borland ML, Morrison AK, Bhatt M, Rino PB, Beneyto Ferre I, Eckerle M, Kam AJ, Chong SL, Palumbo L, Kwok MY, Cherry JC, Poonai N, Waseem M, Simon NJ, Freedman SB, Pediatric Emergency Research Network–COVID-19 Study Team

Author

Andrea Morrison MD Associate Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Acute Disease
Child
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Fatigue
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Prospective Studies