"For COVID" or "With COVID": Classification of SARS-CoV-2 Hospitalizations in Children.
Hosp Pediatr
; 11(8): e151-e156, 2021 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1236617
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Pediatric hospitalization rates are used as a marker of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity in children but may be inflated by the detection of mild or asymptomatic infection via universal screening. We aimed to classify COVID-19 hospitalizations using an existing and novel approach and to assess the interrater reliability of both approaches.METHODS:
This retrospective cohort study characterized severity of illness and likelihood of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection as the cause of hospitalization in pediatric patients <18 years of age. Subjects had positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal testing or were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and were hospitalized between May 10, 2020 (when universal screening of all admissions began) and February 10, 2021, at a university-based, quaternary care children's hospital in Northern California. Hospitalizations were categorized as either likely or unlikely to be caused by SARS-CoV-2 (novel approach), and disease severity was categorized according to previously published classification of disease severity.RESULTS:
Of 117 hospitalizations, 46 (39.3%) were asymptomatic, 33 (28.2%) had mild to moderate disease, 9 (7.7%) had severe illness, and 15 (12.8%) had critical illness (weighted κ 0.82). A total of 14 (12%) patients had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. A total of 53 (45%) admissions were categorized as unlikely to be caused by SARS-CoV-2 (κ 0.78).CONCLUSIONS:
Although COVID-19 has considerable associated morbidity and mortality in children, reported hospitalization rates likely lead to overestimation of the true disease burden.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Hosp Pediatr
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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