Descriptive analysis of persistent symptoms after COVID-19 in children and adolescents

Main Article Content

Martín Romero
Andrea Díaz
Martha Caicedo
Valentina Sánchez
Claudia Llanos
Gustavo Ordoñez
Antonio Madrid
Luis Gabriel Rocha Rodriguez

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents is generally asymptomatic or can cause mild, short-duration illness. However, in some pediatric patients, COVID-19 symptoms can persist for an extended period, impacting their quality of life.


Objective: To determine the frequency of post-COVID-19 clinical manifestations in Colombian children and youth attending outpatient medical consultations and to explore aspects of their quality of life.


Methods: Cross-sectional study involving individuals under 18 with a confirmed history of SARS-CoV-2 infection who experienced COVID-19-associated symptoms for more than four weeks.


Results: 114 patients with a median age of 6.1 years were included. The most common post-COVID-19 symptoms were cough (52.6%), runny nose (40.4%), and fatigue (28.9%). At least 37% of the patients had four or more symptoms during consultation. Among the patients who responded to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), 62% rated their health status as good, and of those who responded to the EQ5D questionnaire, 71% rated their health status as the best possible. Six patients experienced an impact on their quality of life, primarily in the dimensions of pain and discomfort (67%) and limitation in daily activities (33%).


Conclusion: Long COVID syndrome is not limited to adults and may have significant implications for the health and well-being of children and adolescents, posing an emerging challenge in pediatric healthcare.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Romero , M., Díaz, A., Caicedo, M., Sánchez, V., Llanos, C., Ordoñez, G., … Rocha Rodriguez, L. G. (2023). Descriptive analysis of persistent symptoms after COVID-19 in children and adolescents. Pediatría, 56(4), e482. https://doi.org/10.14295/rp.v56i4.482
Section
Originals
Author Biographies

Martín Romero , Director Ejecutivo,Grupo Proyectame, Bogotá, Colombia.

PhD en Salud Pública

Andrea Díaz, Consultor e investigador - Grupo Proyectame, Bogotá, Colombia

M.D., MPH, salud publica 

Martha Caicedo, Consultor e investigador - Grupo Proyectame, Bogotá, Colombia

M.D., M.Sc. Economía de la Salud y del Medicamento

Valentina Sánchez, Consultor e investigador - Grupo Proyectame, Bogotá, Colombia

Economista 

Claudia Llanos, División Médico Científica, Tecnoquímicas, Cali, Colombia.

M.D., M.Sc. Epidemiología 

Gustavo Ordoñez, Clínica Imbanaco, servicio de pediatría, Cali, Colombia

Medico Especialista en Pediatría, Especialista en Neumología Pediátrica 

Antonio Madrid , Clínica Imbanaco, servicio de pediatría,Cali, Colombia

Medico Especialista Pediatría , Especialista en  Cardiología Pediátrica  

Luis Gabriel Rocha Rodriguez, Consultor e investigador - Grupo Proyectame, Bogotá, Colombia.

M.D., M.Sc. epidemilogía clínica 

References

Molteni E, Sudre CH, Canas LS, Bhopal SS, Hughes RC, Antonelli M, et al. Illness duration and symptom profile in symptomatic UK school-aged children tested for SARS-CoV-2. Lancet Child Adolesc Health [Internet]. 2021 Oct 1;5(10):708–18. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00198-X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00198-X

Stephenson T, Shafran R, Ladhani SN. Long COVID in children and adolescents. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2022;35(5):461–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/QCO.0000000000000854

Osmanov IM, Spiridonova E, Bobkova P, Gamirova A, Shikhaleva A, Andreeva M, et al. Risk factors for long covid in previously hospitalised children using the ISARIC Global follow-up protocol: A prospective cohort study. European Respiratory Journal. 2022;59(2).

Behnood SA, Shafran R, Bennet SD, Zhang AXD, O’Mahoney LL, Stephenson TJ, et al. Persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst children and young people : A meta-analysis of controlled and uncontrolled studies. Journal of Infection. 2022;84(January):158–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.11.011

Atchison CJ, Whitaker M, Donnelly CA, Chadeau-Hyam M, Riley S, Darzi A, et al. Characteristics and predictors of persistent symptoms post-COVID-19 in children and young people: a large community cross-sectional study in England. Arch Dis Child [Internet]. 2023 Jul 1;108(7):e12. Available from: http://adc.bmj.com/content/108/7/e12.abstract DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2022-325152

Zarate V, Kind P, Chuang L. Hispanic valuation of the EQ‐5D health states: a social value set for Latin Americans. Value in Health. 2008;11(7):1170–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1524-4733.2008.00349.x

Instituto de Evaluación Tecnológica en Salud. Manual para la elaboración de evaluaciones económicas en salud. Bogotá D.C.: IETS; 2014.

Rabin R, Charro F de. EQ-SD: a measure of health status from the EuroQol Group. Ann Med. 2001;33(5):337–43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/07853890109002087

Colombia. Ministerio de Salud. Resolución N° 008430. Por la cual se establecen las normas científicas, técnicas y administrativas para la investigación en salud. Bogotá: Ministerio de Salud; 1993. p. 1–12.

Colombia, Congreso de la República. (18 de octubre de 2012). Ley Estatutaria 1581 de 2012; por la cual se dictan disposiciones generales para la protección de datos personales. Diario Oficial No. 48.587. Bogotá, D.C.

Bogdanowicz E. Comportamiento clínico y secuelas de la COVID-19 en niños. Neumología Pediátrica. 2022;17(1):15–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51451/np.v17i1.475

Menges D, Ballouz T, Anagnostopoulos A, Aschmann HE, Domenghino A, Fehr JS, et al. Burden of post-COVID-19 syndrome and implications for healthcare service planning: A population-based cohort study. PLoS One. 2021;16(7):e0254523. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254523

Ravens-Sieberer U, Erhart M, Devine J, Gilbert M, Reiss F, Barkmann C, et al. Child and adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of the three-wave longitudinal COPSY study. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2022;71(5):570–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.06.022

Stephenson T, Allin B, Nugawela MD, Rojas N, Dalrymple E, Pereira SP, et al. Long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition) in children: a modified Delphi process. Arch Dis Child. 2022;107(7):674–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-323624

Lopez-Leon S, Wegman-Ostrosky T, Ayuzo del Valle NC, Perelman C, Sepulveda R, Rebolledo PA, et al. Long-COVID in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analyses. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):9950. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13495-5

Pellegrino R, Chiappini E, Licari A, Galli L, Marseglia GL. Prevalence and clinical presentation of long COVID in children: a systematic review. Eur J Pediatr [Internet]. 2022;181(12):3995–4009. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-022-04600-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-022-04600-x

Berg SK, Nielsen SD, Nygaard U, Bundgaard H, Palm P, Rotvig C, et al. Long COVID symptoms in SARS-CoV-2-positive adolescents and matched controls (LongCOVIDKidsDK): a national, cross-sectional study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2022;6(4):240–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00004-9

Roge I, Smane L, Kivite-Urtane A, Pucuka Z, Racko I, Klavina L, et al. Comparison of persistent symptoms after COVID-19 and other non-SARS-CoV-2 infections in children. Front Pediatr. 2021;9:752385. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.752385

Osmanov IM, Spiridonova E, Bobkova P, Gamirova A, Shikhaleva A, Andreeva M, et al. Risk factors for post-COVID-19 condition in previously hospitalised children using the ISARIC Global follow-up protocol: a prospective cohort study. European Respiratory Journal. 2022;59(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01341-2021

Miller F, Nguyen V, Navaratnam AMD, Shrotri M, Kovar J, Hayward AC, et al. Prevalence of persistent symptoms in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a household cohort study in England and Wales. medrxiv. 2021;2021–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.28.21257602

Malik P, Patel K, Pinto C, Jaiswal R, Tirupathi R, Pillai S, et al. Post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome (PCS) and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL)—A systematic review and meta‐analysis. J Med Virol. 2022;94(1):253–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27309

Similar Articles

<< < 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.