ABSTRACT
Although it was thought that children were not susceptible to 2019-nCoV in the early days of the COVID-19 infection outbreak, there are currently reports of children and even one-day-old newborns being infected by the virus and hospitalized around the world. Recognizing the symptoms of the infection in children is of great value since a large number of children are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, which may act as facilitators of the virus transmission. This review aimed to identify and summarize the existing evidence on clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and WHO database for eligible publications. The review proposal was registered with the PROSPERO. The quality assessment was done based on JBI Critical appraisal tools. The random-effects model was used to pool clinical features in the meta-analysis. From the identified 256 potentially relevant studies, 32 articles met the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-one studies fulfilled the criteria for this meta-analysis. Fever (58%) and cough (48%) were reported as the most common symptoms of infected children. Disease severity was mild in 51% and moderate in 39% of cases. A total of 63% of cases had respiratory and 25% of children had gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhea and nausea/vomiting. Approximately 24% of patients were asymptomatic. Results demonstrated that fever and cough were the most common symptoms of COVID-19-infected children and the majority of cases had mild-to-moderate disease severity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Although it was thought that children were not susceptible to 2019-nCoV in the early days of the COVID-19 infection outbreak, there are currently reports of children and even one-day-old newborns being infected by the virus and hospitalized around the world. Recognizing the symptoms of the infection in children is of great value since a large number of children are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, which may act as facilitators of the virus transmission. This review aimed to identify and summarize the existing evidence on clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and WHO database for eligible publications. The review proposal was registered with the PROSPERO. The quality assessment was done based on JBI Critical appraisal tools. The random-effects model was used to pool clinical features in the meta-analysis. From the identified 256 potentially relevant studies, 32 articles met the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-one studies fulfilled the criteria for this meta-analysis. Fever (58%) and cough (48%) were reported as the most common symptoms of infected children. Disease severity was mild in 51% and moderate in 39% of cases. A total of 63% of cases had respiratory and 25% of children had gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhea and nausea/vomiting. Approximately 24% of patients were asymptomatic. Results demonstrated that fever and cough were the most common symptoms of COVID-19-infected children and the majority of cases had mild-to-moderate disease severity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Cough is part of the daily life of patients with Cystic fibrosis (CF) and its most common symptom. This study explored the experiences of adolescents with CF in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to their cough. DESIGN AND METHODS: In this qualitative study, we conducted 32 semi-structured interviews with 21 adolescents with CF. We analyzed the data thematically. RESULTS: We identified three main themes among adolescents with CF in relation to coughing: 1. Cough is a permanent companion; 2. Coughing raises fear of double stigma; 3. Patients' individualized coping strategies to deal with coughing. Participants complained that cough interrupted daily tasks and sleep, drew unwanted attention in public places, and elicited questions about whether they were COVID-19 patients or substance users-both highly stigmatized identities. CONCLUSION: Although coughing is a protective mechanism for CF patients, frequent coughing often causes major challenges, particularly during the COVID pandemic, when people were acutely sensitive and aware about coughing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to taking care of themselves and managing the disease, CF patients therefore had to also overcome issues related to social stigma and isolation. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare workers play an important role in increasing public awareness about CF and its symptoms, including cough. During the pandemic, healthcare workers can help reduce the stigma of coughing through public education. Healthcare workers can actively communicate with patients to identify severe and ineffective cases of cough due to exacerbation of the disease and refer them to a specialist.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Cystic Fibrosis , Adolescent , COVID-19/epidemiology , Cough/diagnosis , Cough/epidemiology , Dreams , Humans , Pandemics , Social StigmaABSTRACT
Although it was thought that children were not susceptible to 2019-nCoV in the early days of the COVID-19 infection outbreak, there are currently reports of children and even one-day-old newborns being infected by the virus and hospitalized around the world. Recognizing the symptoms of the infection in children is of great value since a large number of children are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, which may act as facilitators of the virus transmission. This review aimed to identify and summarize the existing evidence on clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and WHO database for eligible publications. The review proposal was registered with the PROSPERO. The quality assessment was done based on JBI Critical appraisal tools. The random-effects model was used to pool clinical features in the meta-analysis. From the identiï¬ed 256 potentially relevant studies, 32 articles met the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-one studies fulfilled the criteria for this meta-analysis. Fever (58%) and cough (48%) were reported as the most common symptoms of infected children. Disease severity was mild in 51% and moderate in 39% of cases. A total of 63% of cases had respiratory and 25% of children had gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhea and nausea/vomiting. Approximately 24% of patients were asymptomatic. Results demonstrated that fever and cough were the most common symptoms of COVID-19-infected children and the majority of cases had mild-to-moderate disease severity.
ABSTRACT
BackgroundGiven the symptom burden, complex decision making & communication, and mortality associated with Covid-19, the role of palliative care within the pandemic has been defined. Published data is largely from the hospital setting, and information about community palliative care teams (CPCTs) and Covid-19 is lacking. This study aims to review referrals to a London CPCT during the pandemic and compare suspected Covid-19 with non-Covid-19 referrals, to establish clinical patterns and optimise planning for a second wave.MethodsRetrospective case-note review of 115 consecutive new referrals to a London CPCT between 9th March and 30th April 2020. Demographics, response to referral, symptomatology, Advance Care Planning (ACP) and outcomes were extracted and analysed using descriptive statistics.Results53 patients were categorised as suspected Covid-19, 40 of which were residing within a care home, with 62 as non-Covid-19 controls. End of life care was the commonest referral reason in the suspected Covid-19 group (53%) compared with symptom control (81% in controls). Reduced appetite, fatigue and pain were the most common documented symptoms in all, followed by shortness of breath in the suspected Covid-19 group and nausea/vomiting in the controls.Prior to CPCT assessment, 78% of the suspected Covid-19 patients had comprehensive ACP in place, compared to 31% (controls). Time from referral to death was short in the Covid-19 group: median 5 versus 22 days.ConclusionsCare home patients were disproportionately affected by suspected Covid-19, and these patients were symptomatic and deteriorated quickly. The rapid deterioration in suspected Covid-19 patients may highlight a potential difficulty in refers ‘diagnosing dying’ in these patients. It has allowed us to draw recommendations for future practice. These include combining the CPCT triage and first assessment, using video-conferencing as default, and ongoing work to increase ease of access to anticipatory injectable medications when needed.