Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children and adolescents: a multicenter study
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Abstract
Background: The first case of the 2019 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed on March 6, 2020. There are already more than 2,2 million infected in Colombia. COVID-19 testing in children is still limited. Objective: Identify clinical and epidemiological characteristics and transmission patterns of pediatric patients with COVID-19 in Colombia. Methods: Prospective cohort study with 4 469 patients aged 0-17 years who consulted for signs and symptoms compatible with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the emergency room of eight institutions in three cities of Colombia. The cases were confirmed by RT-PCR or positive antigen test. The epidemic curves were constructed by the date of diagnosis. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were used to analyze clinical characteristics, pathological history, epidemiological risk, and relevant outcomes. p <0.05 were considered statistically significant Results: A total of 602 (13.5 %) laboratory-confirmed cases were identified and, compared to the general population, represented 5.1 % of the cases. The median age of all patients was 3 years (interquartile range: 1-9 years) and the time of evolution until diagnosis was 2 days (range: 1 to 3 days). The highest incidence of cases occurred in July and December. 15.61 % of the confirmed children had pre-existing diseases and the mortality rate in the cohort was 0.3 %. Conclusions: Children of any age are susceptible to COVID-19, but in general, its evolution is milder than in adults, and deaths were rare.
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