Abstract :
Introduction: COVID- 19 pandemic has affected hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, and so far, accounted for 0.39-12.3% of affected disease population. Even though a large number of studies have reviewed symptoms and characteristics of adults with COVID-19, only some of them have included a smaller number of children.
Objectives: This study aimed a) To examine the epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection reported in children from published studies b) To outline the signs and symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection reported in children from the research studies and c) To provide converging evidence of the clinical outcomes and prognosis of children affected with SARS-CoV-2 infection from reported studies.
Materials and Methods: A literature review was conducted through online sources of data base available in the internet. Studies published from Jan 2020 up to September 2021 were included.
Results: The organism causing infection was the novel Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2). In children, almost 0.39-12.3% of the population was affected. A slight predominance of boys vs. girls was noted, but it was not statistically significant. The incubation period ranged from 2-14 days. Nearly 51% of children were presenting with mild disease and nearly 4% were asymptomatic. The children also presented with non-respiratory symptoms, but the exact figures were not available. Multisystem inflammatory response was the most common reported complication.
Conclusion: Current findings indicate that children have a lower incidence of the disease, with milder predominance and better prognosis, but prolonged shedding of virus in the nasal and stools sample and being asymptomatic raises a concern of community transmission.
Keyword :
Children, SARSCoV2, Epidemiology, Clinical outcomes, Signs and Symptoms, Clinical presentation, Etiology