[Clinical features of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection: an analysis of 115 cases]

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features of children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 115 children who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Wuhan Children's Hospital, including general information, history of close contact with individuals of SARS-CoV-2 infection, early clinical symptoms, laboratory examination results, and lung CT results. RESULTS: Among the 115 children, there were 73 boys (63.5%) and 42 girls (36.5%), with a male/female ratio of 10.58. Of the 115 children, 105 (91.3%) had a definite history of close contact with individuals of SARS-CoV-2-infection. An increase in alanine aminotransferase was observed in 11 children (9.6%) and an increase in CK-MB was found in 34 children (29.6%). As for clinical symptoms, 29 children (25.2%) had fever, 47 (40.9%) had respiratory symptoms (including cough, rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion), and 61 (53.0%) were asymptomatic. Lung CT findings showed ground glass opacity, fiber opacities, patchy changes, and pulmonary consolidation in 49 children (42.6%), among whom 2 children had "white lung";39 children (33.9%) only had lung texture enhancement and 27 children (23.5%) had no pulmonary imaging changes. Among the 115 children, 3 were critically ill, among whom 1 had been cured and the other 2 were under continuous treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the children with SARS-CoV-2 infection have a close contact history. Critical cases are rare and there is a high proportion of asymptomatic infection.