Management and Outcome of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Pediatric Cancer Patients: A Single Centre Experience from a Developing Country.
Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk
; 21(11): e853-e864, 2021 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1368617
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Sufficient data pertaining to the impact of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pediatric cancer patients is still lacking. The aim of this prospective study was to describe clinical management and outcomes of COVID-19 in pediatric oncology patients. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
Conducted between May 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020, this study included 76 pediatric oncology patients with confirmed COVID-19. Remdesivir (RDV) was the antiviral therapy used.RESULTS:
The median age of patients was 9 years. Sixty patients were on first line treatment. Hematological malignancies constituted 86.8% of patients. Severe to critical infections were 35.4% of patients. The commonest symptom was fever (93.4%). Chemotherapy was delayed in 59.2% of patients and doses were modified in 30.2%. The 60-day overall survival (OS) stood at 86.8%, with mortalities occurring only among critical patients. Of sixteen acute leukemia patients in the first induction therapy, 13 survived and 10 achieved complete remission. A negative RT-PCR within 2 weeks and improvement of radiological findings were statistically related to disease severity (P = .008 and .002, respectively). Better OS was associated with regression of radiological findings after 30 days from infection (P = .002). Forty-five patients received RDV, 42.1% had severe and critical forms of infection compared to 25.7% in the No-RDV group and yet OS was comparable in both groups.CONCLUSION:
Most pediatric cancer patients with COVID-19 should have good clinical outcomes except for patients with critical infections. Cancer patients can tolerate chemotherapy including induction phase, alongside COVID-19 treatment. In severe and critical COVID-19, RDV might have a potential benefit.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk
Journal subject:
Neoplasms
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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