Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in children
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in children
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was firstly reported at the end of 2019. The disease rapidly spread all around the world in afew months and was declared a worldwide pandemic by WHO in March 2020. By April 9, there were 1,436,198 confirmed COVID-19cases in the world, nearly with 6% mortality rate. This novel infectious disease causes respiratory tract illness that may generally occur asmild upper respiratory tract disease or pneumonia. In older patients and/or patients with underlying conditions, it may result in acuterespiratory distress syndrome, multi organ failure and even death. According to the current literature, children account approximately for1%–5% of diagnosed COVID-19 cases. Generally, COVID-19 seems to be a less severe disease for children than adults. Approximately90% of pediatric patients are diagnosed as asymptomatic, mild, or moderate disease. However, up to 6.7% of cases may be severe. Severeillness is generally seen in patients smaller than 1 year of age and patients who have underlying disesases. The epidemiological andclinical patterns of COVID-19 and treatment approaches in pediatric patients still remain unclear although many pediatric reportsare published. This review aims to summarize the current epidemics, clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19 inpediatric patients.
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