ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: Data with more severe mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, compared with the original wild-type strain of COVID-19 disease, were reported worldwide. The study aims to describe the clinical and laboratory manifestations of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with SARS-CoV-2 in the Republic of Kazakhstan and to compare the severity of the disease depending on the time of the circulating variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Material and methods: A retrospective, multicentre, nationwide study of 89 children with MIS-C who received inpatient treatment from August 1, 2020, to December 1, 2021. The patients were allocated into two groups: 1(2020) - 45 children and 2 (2021) - 44 children. Study periods were characterized by the circulation of different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Results: In children with MIS-C in 2021, acute renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, and shock were statistically more frequently found, which led to fairly common admittance to the intensive care unit. When comparing laboratory data, the children with MIS-C in 2021 had higher values of inflammation markers: ferritin, procalcitonin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, leukocytes, and neutrophils. Furthermore, these children had a lower level of lymphocytes than children with MIS-C in 2020. Conclusions: MIS-C is a severe, life-threatening systemic disease characterized by multiple organ damage and important inflammatory changes in laboratory parameters. A more aggressive clinical course of MIS-C in 2021 may be associated with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains.
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives Data with more severe mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, compared with the original wild-type strain of COVID-19 disease, were reported worldwide. The study aims to describe the clinical and laboratory manifestations of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with SARS-CoV-2 in the Republic of Kazakhstan and to compare the severity of the disease depending on the time of the circulating variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Material and methods A retrospective, multicentre, nationwide study of 89 children with MIS-C who received inpatient treatment from August 1, 2020, to December 1, 2021. The patients were allocated into two groups: 1(2020) - 45 children and 2 (2021) - 44 children. Study periods were characterized by the circulation of different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Results In children with MIS-C in 2021, acute renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, and shock were statistically more frequently found, which led to fairly common admittance to the intensive care unit. When comparing laboratory data, the children with MIS-C in 2021 had higher values of inflammation markers: ferritin, procalcitonin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, leukocytes, and neutrophils. Furthermore, these children had a lower level of lymphocytes than children with MIS-C in 2020. Conclusions MIS-C is a severe, life-threatening systemic disease characterized by multiple organ damage and important inflammatory changes in laboratory parameters. A more aggressive clinical course of MIS-C in 2021 may be associated with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains.
ABSTRACT
Background: To date, there have been no studies of COVID-19 infection in children in Central Asia, particularly the Republic of Kazakhstan. This report analyses the epidemiological data on COVID-19 infection in children in Kazakhstan.Methods: The study included 650 paediatric patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Demographic and epidemiological data and the symptoms and radiological evidence of complications were collected and analysed. Children were sub-divided into four groups: neonates/infants, young children, older children and adolescents.Results: All of the 650 children were under 19 years of age, 56.3% of whom were male, and 122 (18.8%) were newborns and infants. The majority of cases (n = 558, 85.8%) were asymptomatic and only four cases were severe (0.6%). The symptoms were as follows in descending order: cough (14.8%), sore throat (12.8%), fever (9.1%) and rhinorrhoea (5.5%). Diarrhoea (2%), dyspnoea (1.8%) and muscle pain were rare (1.1%). Only three children required intensive care, including invasive ventilation. One patient had acute respiratory distress syndrome. There were no deaths.Conclusion: Most cases of COVID-19 infection in children in Kazakhstan were asymptomatic or the symptoms were mild. Only three patients required intensive care.