Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Akça, Halise
• Kurt, Funda
• Akça Çağlar, Ayla
• Güngör, Ahmet Alptuğ
• Kuruç, Aylin Irmak
• Gacal, Esma Büşra
• Gişi, Simge
• Kanık-Yüksek, Saliha
• Yakut, Halil İbrahim
• Dibek Mısırlıoğlu, Emine
• Şenel, Emrah

Titel

Evaluation of Suspected COVID-19 Patients in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Ist Teil von

• Journal of pediatric intensive care, 2022-03, Vol.11 (1), p.048-053

Ort / Verlag

Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany: Georg Thieme Verlag KG

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Free E-Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now a global pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of COVID-19 in pediatric patients and to compare the characteristics of positive and negative patients. This study conducted from March to May 2020 in a tertiary children's hospital. Patients were included if they were under 18 years old and a SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test had been performed. Of the 1,812 patients included in the study, 365 (20.1%) were positive for COVID-19. The median age was 102 months in the positive group, 70 months in the negative group ( p  < 0.001). The sex distribution was almost equal. Nearly all positive patients had been in close contact with a COVID-19 infected family household member ( p  < 0.001). The most common symptoms were fever (54.4%) and cough (38.6%). The asymptomatic patient rate was higher in the positive group ( p  < 0.001). Lymphopenia (<1500/mm 3 ) was found in 29.9% of the positive children ( p  = 0.005). When the groups were compared, white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; and C-reactive protein level were lower in the positive group. Chest radiography was performed in 95.3% of the positive patients, and the results of 29.7% of them were interpreted as pathological ( p  < 0.001). Most of the pediatric patients had a history of contact with COVID-19 positive individuals, and therefore, the diagnosis is generally suspected from a history of household exposure to COVID-19. Lymphopenia can help predict positivity. Awareness, reinforcing infection control measures, and performing health management within families are important steps to manage these patients.