ABSTRACT
Background: In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) emerged in Wuhan, China. Objectives: The current research aimed to evaluate the clinical features of COVID-19 infection in pediatric patients and compare them with those of adult patients in Sanandaj, Iran. Methods: Retrospectively, 56 hospitalized cases, including 32 adult and 24 pediatric patients with COVID-19 from March 7th, 2020, to June 5th, 2020, were enrolled in this study. The clinical and laboratory findings of the pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection were analyzed and compared with those of the adult patients. Results: The average number of fever days in adults was higher than that of pediatric patients (P = 0.04). Cough was more severe in adults than in pediatric patients (P = 0.03). Diarrhea was not statistically different between the two groups. Dizziness was far more common in adults than pediatric patients (P = 0.01). The percentage of blood oxygen saturation decreased in both groups, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. C-reactive protein (CRP) was positive in many patients in both groups;however, there was no difference between the pediatric and adult patients. Lymphopenia was significantly higher in adults than in pediatric patients (P = 0.02). As in pediatric patients, an increase in liver enzymes was seen in adults. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: The present study showed that pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection have milder clinical symptoms than adults. However, according to the laboratory findings, pediatric patients need to be followed up as well as adult patients.
ABSTRACT
Background: The knowledge of antibody's significance and frequency in patients cured of severe acute respiratory syndrome coro Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in patients exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Healthcare professionals infected with SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled in this study. The levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were detected 15 days after the onset of symptoms and five months later. Results: A total of 167 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were evaluated, including 119 (71.3%) females and 48 (28.7%) males. Of the 88 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive patients, 55 (62.5%) had IgG-positive antibodies, and of the 79 reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR-negative patients, 12 (16.9%) had IgG-positive antibodies. Out of 23 anosmia cases, 19 (82.6%) had positive antibodies. There was a significant relationship between anosmia and positive antibody (P = 0.001), but there was no correlation between antibody titers and gender and other disease symptoms. Immortally, 63 (94%) cases demonstrated high levels of anti-SARSCoV-2 IgG antibodies after five months of infection. Moreover, 6.5% (N = 11) of the total population were re-infected with COVID-19 Conclusions: Overall, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies detection maybe an appropriate method to identify suspected patients with a negative RT-PCR test. Antibodies can remain high in most infected patients for up to five months after infection. Moreover, anosmia seems to be a valuable diagnostic factor, and the healthcare system should implement isolation measures for patients with anosmia.