Children hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first winter of the pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although there are reports on COVID-19 in pediatrics, the characteristics of the population of each country, its health systems, and how the pandemic was addressed could give the disease distinctive features worldwide. We aimed to describe the characteristics of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a tertiary pediatric hospital in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive study, including all patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from 04/26/2020 to 10/31/2020 in a tertiary pediatric hospital. We described the demographic, clinical, and epidemiological characteristics of the patients. RESULTS: During the period studied, 578 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19. The median age was 4.2 years, and 83% reported close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. Regarding severity, 30.8% were asymptomatic, and 60.4% showed mild, 7.4% moderate, and 1.4% severe symptoms. Among symptomatic patients, fever was the most frequent symptom, followed by sore throat and cough. CONCLUSIONS: We reported 578 cases of children and adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19, of which the majority showed mild or asymptomatic disease.