If previously published data indicated high rates of Long Covid among children up to the age of 18 who were infected with Corona | A study conducted in eight countries shows completely different data and claims that 6% (only) of the children who got sick with Corona suffered from Long Covid, much less than adults
In a study conducted in eight countries and published last week in JAMA Network Open, it was found that almost 6% of the children who arrived at medical centers with Corona presented long-lasting Covid symptoms 90 days later. Among children aged 14 and over, the duration of the symptoms was longer.
Based on this study presented on the doctorsonly website, it can be said that the incidence of long covid among children is lower than among adults, but the symptoms last a long time, sometimes months after the illness.
Previously published data indicated a prevalence of 25% to 58% of long covid among children from birth to 18 years old who were infected with corona, when the symptoms of the phenomenon were not linked to the severity of the disease, but the new study presents other data.
As part of the research led by Prof. Nathan Kuperman from the Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of California School of Medicine, children who came to the emergency room between March 2020 and the end of January 2021 were interviewed. Most of the children were American, but there were also subjects from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, Paraguay , Singapore and Spain. A total of 1,884 children infected with Corona and 1,701 children who sought treatment in the emergency room for other reasons.
9.8% of the children infected with corona and hospitalized and 4.6% of the children with corona who were released to their homes continued to suffer from various symptoms for 90 days after the diagnosis. The children were hospitalized after showing four more corona symptoms during 48 hours upon arrival at the Medical Center.
Now the authors of the new research report believe that this rate of long covid symptoms is lower than what was published in previous reports, which probably relied on smaller samples of children. This rate is also lower than the rate of long covid patients among adults, which is about 33%.
5% of the children who did not fall ill with Corona but were hospitalized for other reasons also suffered from various symptoms, including fatigue, concentration problems and abdominal pain for 90 days. The researchers raised the possibility that these symptoms are the result of the prolonged isolations and distance learning, so there may be psychological consequences here.
Long-term covid symptoms were more common in teenagers over the age of 14 compared to younger people. The assessment: teenagers have a higher concentration of viral particles of the virus in their bodies compared to younger children. Another possibility: the teenagers tested were better able to describe and verbalize what prolonged symptoms are.
It has long been known that the most common symptom in children who have suffered from Long Covid is fatigue, which is also most common in adults who suffer from the phenomenon. Loss of sense of smell, reported in previous studies, was uncommon according to the latest study. Other common symptoms that the children complained about: cough, breathing problems, digestive system disorders, headaches and irritability.
The prolonged corona syndrome, Long Covid, is the name given to a disease different from the “normal” corona in which the symptoms last more than 12 weeks and vary in intensity. Some of the symptoms disappear and return, and others do not appear at the beginning of the disease and erupt only towards or after recovery. Among the symptoms reported by corona patients: cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pain, memory problems, anxiety, depression, skin rashes and diarrhea.
There are reports of worsening of various diseases following infection with the virus: diabetes and inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s and colitis) or rheumatological conditions. Since it can be determined based on blood tests that the virus has disappeared thanks to the antibodies in the body that have overcome it, only then is the patient declared cured. But the long-covid symptoms emerge later and in rare cases patients have reported fatal hypercoagulability, heart attacks, strokes, venous thrombosis in the legs, heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias.
In cases of chronic symptoms – without a clinical diagnosis that it is corona – associated with long covid symptoms, patients will be required to undergo a serological test, be monitored and treated with anticoagulants, especially when there is a risk of blood clots forming in the brain, lungs, heart and other organs. All of these are also attributed to the turbulent inflammatory phenomenon caused by the virus when it entered the body. Other treatments are required when it comes to prolonged fatigue, including physical activity, hydrotherapy, antidepressants and psychiatric counseling.
The study was published in JAMA Network Open and featured on the doctorsonly website.