Review: COVID-19 in children, pregnancy and neonates : A review of epidemiological and clinical features

Review: COVID-19 in children, pregnancy and neonates : A review of epidemiological and clinical features

This expert and narrative review describes key epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 infections within children, neonates, and pregnant mothers.

  • Overall, 83% of the children had a positive contact history, mostly with family members.
  • The incubation period varied between 2 and 25 days with a mean of 7 days.
  • The virus could be isolated from nasopharyngeal secretions for up to 22 days and from stool for more than 30 days. Co-infections were reported in up to 79% of children (mainly mycoplasma and influenza).
  • Up to 35% of children were asymptomatic.
  • The most common symptoms were cough (48%; range 19%–100%), fever (42%; 11%–100%) and pharyngitis (30%; 11%–100%). Further symptoms were nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, tachypnea, wheezing, diarrhea, vomiting, headache and fatigue.
  • Laboratory test parameters were only minimally altered.
  • Radiologic findings were unspecific and included unilateral or bilateral infiltrates with, in some cases, ground-glass opacities or consolidation with a surrounding halo sign.
  • Children rarely needed admission to intensive care units (3%), and to date, only a small number of deaths have been reported in children globally.
  • Two mothers (3%) were admitted to intensive care unit. Fetal distress was reported in 30% of pregnancies.
  • Neonatal complications included respiratory distress or pneumonia (18%), disseminated intravascular coagulation (3%), asphyxia (2%) and 2 perinatal deaths.
  • Four neonates (3 with pneumonia) have been reported to be SARS-CoV-2 positive despite strict infection control and prevention procedures during delivery and separation of mother and neonates, meaning vertical transmission could not be excluded.
|2020-05-14T11:15:15-04:00May 13th, 2020|COVID-19 Literature|Comments Off on Review: COVID-19 in children, pregnancy and neonates : A review of epidemiological and clinical features

About the Author: Megan McHenry

Megan McHenry
Megan S. McHenry, MD, MS, FAAP is a pediatrician and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and Global Health at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. McHenry's research focuses on early childhood development in children living in resource-limited settings. This work is frequently aligned with community-engaged research and dissemination and implementation science frameworks. She primarily conducts research in collaboration with the Academic Model for Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) Research Network in Kenya. Dr. McHenry currently has a career development award through the National Institutes of Health to develop a neurodevelopmental screening program for children born to HIV-infected mothers in Kenya. Dr. McHenry is also the Director of Pediatric Global Health Education and a co-Director of the Morris Green Physician-Scientist Development Program at Indiana University School of Medicine. In additional to global health lectures, she also educates residents and students on early childhood development, basic biostatistical techniques, research methodologies, and research ethics. She mentors multiple pediatric fellows, residents, and medical students interested in early childhood development within global contexts.

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