A literature review of 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) infection in neonates and children.

ABSTRACT

At the time of writing, there are already millions of documented infections worldwide by the novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2)), with hundreds of thousands of deaths. The great majority of fatal events have been recorded in adults older than 70 years; of them, a large proportion had comorbidities. Since data regarding the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics in neonates and children developing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are scarce and originate mainly from one country (China), we reviewed all the current literature from 1 December 2019 to 7 May 2020 to provide useful information about SARS-CoV2 viral biology, epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical features, treatment, prevention, and hospital organization for clinicians dealing with this selected population. IMPACT Children usually develop a mild form of COVID-19, rarely requiring high-intensity medical treatment in pediatric intensive care unit. Vertical transmission is unlikely, but not completely excluded. Children with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 must be isolated and healthcare workers should wear appropriate protective equipment. Some clinical features (higher incidence of fever, vomiting and diarrhea, and a longer incubation period) are more common in children than in adults, as well as some radiologic aspects (more patchy shadow opacities on CT scan images than ground-glass opacities). Supportive and symptomatic treatments (oxygen therapy and antibiotics for preventing/treating bacterial coinfections) are recommended in these patients.