A primer on COVID-19 in hospitalized children
Converge 2021 session
COVID-19 in Children
Presenter
Philip Zachariah, MD, MPH
Session summary
Children have been less severely affected by COVID-19 than adults (hospitalization rates around 5%). However, once hospitalized, ICU admission rates in children have been similar to adults, around 30%. Mortality has been 1%-2%. Risk factors for more severe acute SARS CoV-2 infections include age extremes, minorities, obesity, medical complexity, immunocompromised pediatric patients, and asthma.
Dr. Philip Zachariah
Multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children (MIS-C) continues to present among persistently febrile children with multisystem findings and the history of acute COVID-19 infection in prior 3-6 weeks. There seems to be a link between the immunological defects in type I and II interferon production, as autoantibodies to type I interferon may predispose to severe disease. Dr. Zachariah of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, discussed the recent study exploring intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) alone versus IVIG and steroids as treatment options for MIS-C. So far, the failure rates in IVIG-alone group were higher (51%) versus IVIG and steroids (9%).
Besides MIS-C, many neurological manifestations of COVID-19 have been seen among children including GBS, seizures, encephalitis, cranial neuropathies, and demyelination cases. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), and pseudo-appendicitis have all been described in the literature, however, larger case control studied are needed.
In children, clinical vascular thrombotic events (VTEs) are rare. Anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis is suggested for hospitalized patients with COVID-19–related illness, whose D-dimer is >5 times upper limit of normal values and who have one or more non–COVID-19 related clinical risk factors for hospital acquired VTEs.
Dr. Mirna Giordano
Key takeaways
- Once hospitalized, the ICU admission rates for children have been similar to those in adults, ~30%.
- MIS-C is showing lower failure rates if treated with IVIG and steroids, and most reliable laboratory findings should be elevated C-reactive protein, lymphopenia, and elevated brain natriuretic peptide.
- In hospitalized children with COVID-19, clinical VTEs are rare.
Dr. Giordano is an associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. She is a pediatric hospitalist with expertise in pediatric surgical comanagement
