Reluctance to seek pediatric care during the COVID-19 pandemic and the risks of delayed diagnosis.
Ital J Pediatr
; 46(1): 87, 2020 Jun 29.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-617355
ABSTRACT
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases registered worldwide has risen to over 3 million. While COVID-19 per se does not seem to represent a significant threat to the pediatric population, which generally presents a benign course and a low lethality, the current emergency might negatively affect the care of pediatric patients and overall children welfare. In particular, the fear of contracting COVID-19 may determine a delayed access to pediatric emergency facilities. Present report focuses on the experience of The Children Hospital in Alessandria (northern Italy). The authors document a drop in the number of admissions to the emergency department (A&E) during the lock-down. They will also focus on four emblematic cases of pediatric patients who were seen to our A&E in severe conditions. All these cases share a significant diagnostic delay caused by the parents' reluctance to seek medical attention, seen as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 contagion. None was found positive to all COVID-19 swab or immunologic testing. All in all, our data strongly support the importance of promoting a direct and timely interaction between patients and medical staff, to prevent the fear of COVID-19 from causing more harm than the virus itself.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Infection Control
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Emergency Service, Hospital
/
Delayed Diagnosis
/
Pandemics
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Ital J Pediatr
Journal subject:
Pediatrics
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S13052-020-00849-w
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