Factors associated with negative conversion of viral RNA in hospitalized children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Shanghai, China: a retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the related risk factors and potential predictors of SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative conversion by describing the dynamics of viral shedding in infected children admitted to two hospitals from Shanghai during the Omicron variant outbreak. METHODS: This retrospective cohort included laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from Shanghai between March 28 and May 31, 2022. Clinical characteristics, personal vaccination, and household vaccination rates were collected through electronic health records and telephone interviews. RESULTS: A total of 603 paediatric patients confirmed to have COVID-19 were included in this study. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to filter independent factors for the duration to viral RNA negative conversion. Data on the redetection of SARS-CoV-2 in the patients after they showed negative results on the RT‒PCR test (intermittent negative status) were also analysed. The median duration of virus shedding was 12 (interquartile range, IQR: 10-14) days. The severity of clinical outcome, personal vaccination-2doses, household vaccination rates, and abnormal defecation were factors indecently affecting negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, suggesting that patients who had abnormal defecation or with more severe conditions would have delayed virological clearance, while patients who previously had 2 doses of vaccination or had higher household vaccination rates would have accelerated virological clearance. Loss of appetite (odds ratio (OR): 5.343; 95% CI: 3.307-8.632) and abnormal defecation (OR: 2.840; 95% CI: 1.736-4.645) were significantly associated with intermittent negative status. CONCLUSION: These findings could provide clues for the early identification of paediatric patients with prolonged viral shedding and could enrich the evidence for the development of prevention and control strategies, especially vaccination policies for children and adolescents.

Therapeutic strategy of traditional Chinese medicine for COVID-19

2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia is an acute infectious pneumonia outbreak at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province. It belongs to the category of "epidemic disease" in TCM. Early intervention of traditional Chinese medicine has played an important role in this epidemic situation.In each stage, it has shown the advantages of treatment, accumulated rich experience, and initially formed a set of mechanism of Chinese medicine to prevent and treat acute infectious diseases. This article summarizes the classical prescriptions during each period of the disease, the screening methods of effective prescriptions and the clinical studies that have been carried out. This article can preliminarily showed the active part of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia.