Stopyra L, Kowalik A, Stala J, Majchrzak I, Szebla J, Jakosz M, Grzywaczewska K, Kwinta P. Characteristics of Hospitalized Pediatric Patients in the First Five Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Center in Poland-1407 Cases.
J Clin Med 2022;
11:jcm11226806. [PMID:
36431283 PMCID:
PMC9697870 DOI:
10.3390/jcm11226806]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This is a single-center, prospective study that compared the clinical presentation and laboratory findings of hospitalized children during the first five waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected, according to a standardized questionnaire, from 1407 children from 23 March 2020 to 30 April 2022. Significant differences in clinical courses were found among the five waves probably due to different SARS-CoV-2 variants. The median age was 95.8 months in the first wave versus 14.6-23 months in the others. The number of patients with upper respiratory infection was the highest in the fifth wave (74.4% versus 43.8-56.9% in the others) and for lower respiratory infection in the first wave (50.0% versus 16.4-32.5%). Gastroenterocolitis was more common in the fifth wave (24.4% versus 8.9-16.5%); neurological diagnoses appeared more frequently in the fourth wave (16.6% versus 0.6-9.9%), while anosmia and ageusia were higher in the fifth wave (13% versus 1.5-4%). Life-threatening courses were relatively rare. However, children with pneumonia, dehydration from high fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, loss of smell and taste, and neurological symptoms required hospitalization.
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