ABSTRACT
BackgroundMost guidelines on COVID-19 published so far include recommendations for patients regardless of age. Clinicians need a more accurate understanding of the clinical characteristics of children with COVID-19. MethodsWe searched studies reporting clinical characteristics in children with COVID-19 published until March 31, 2020. We screened the literature, extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias and quality of evidence of the included studies. We combined some of the outcomes (symptoms) in a single-arm meta-analysis using a random-effects model. ResultsOur search retrieved 49 studies, including 25 case reports, 23 case series and one cohort study, with a total of 1667 patients. Our meta-analysis showed that most children with COVID-19 have mild symptoms. Eighty-three percent of the children were within family clusters of cases, and 19% had no symptoms. At least 7% with digestive symptoms. The main symptoms of children were fever (48%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 39%, 56%) and cough (39%, 95% CI: 30%, 48%). The lymphocyte count was below normal level in only 15% [95% CI: 8%, 22%] of children which is different from adult patients. 66% [95% CI: 55%, 77%] of children had abnormal findings in CT imaging. ConclusionsMost children with COVID-19 have only mild symptoms, and many children are asymptomatic. Fever and cough are the most common symptoms in children. Vomiting and diarrhea were not common in children. The lymphocyte count is usually within the normal range in children.
ABSTRACT
BackgroundThe COVID-19 outbreak presents a new, life-threatening disease. Our aim was to assess the potential effectiveness and safety of antiviral agents for COVID-19 in children. MethodsElectronic databases from their inception to March, 31 2020 were searched for randomized controlled trials, clinical controlled trials and cohort studies of interventions with antiviral agents for children (less than 18 years of age) with COVID-19. ResultsA total of 23 studies of indirect evidence with 6008 patients were included. The risks of bias in all studies were moderate to high in general. The effectiveness and safety of antiviral agents for children with COVID-19 is uncertain: For adults with COVID-19, lopinavir/ritonavir had no effect on mortality (risk ratio [RR]= 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.45 to 1.30) and probability of negative PCR test (RR=0.98, 95 CI% 0.82 to 1.18). Arbidol had no benefit on probability of negative PCR test (RR=1.27, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.73). Hydroxychloroquine was not associated with increasing the probability of negative PCR result (RR=0.93, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.18). For adults with SARS, interferon was associated with reduced corticosteroid dose (weighted mean difference [WMD]=-0.14 g, 95% CI -0.21 to -0.07) but had no effect on mortality (RR=0.72, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.88); ribavirin did not reduce mortality (RR=0.68, 95% CI % 0.43 to 1.06) and was associated with high risk of severe adverse reactions; and oseltamivir had no effect on mortality (RR=0.87, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.38). Ribavirin combined with interferon was also not effective in adults with MERS and associated with adverse reactions. ConclusionsThere is no evidence showing the effectiveness of antiviral agents for children with COVID-19, and the clinical efficacy of existing antiviral agents is still uncertain. We do not suggest clinical routine use of antivirals for COVID-19 in children, with the exception of clinical trials.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This meta-analysis is to comprehensively evaluate the diagnostic performance of three-dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (3D-TOF-MRA) for detecting intracranial aneurysm (IA). METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane library were systematically searched for retrieving eligible studies. Study inclusion, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed by two researchers independently. Pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated to assess the diagnostic value. In addition, heterogeneity and subgroup analysis were carried out. RESULTS: In total, 18 studies comprising 3463 patients were selected. The results of 3D-TOF-MRA for diagnosing IA were SEN 0.89 (95% CI 0.82-0.94), SPE 0.94 (0.86-0.97), PLR 13.79 (5.92-32.12), NLR 0.11 (0.07-0.19), DOR 121.90 (38.81-382.94), and AUC 0.96 (0.94-0.98), respectively. In the subgroup analysis, studies without subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) tend to perform statistical significantly better (P < 0.05) in detecting IAs than studies with SAH 0.99 (0.98-1.00) vs. 0.89 (0.86-0.91). The diagnostic value of studies with a two-image reconstruction method was higher than studies with only one image reconstruction method: 0.99 (0.98-1.00) vs. 0.91 (0.89-0.94) with P < 0.05. The 3D-TOF-MRA had better SEN in aneurysms > 3 mm than the aneurysms ≤ 3 mm in diameter: 0.89 (0.87-0.92) vs. 0.78 (0.71-0.84) with P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that 3D-TOF-MRA has an excellent diagnostic performance for the overall assessment of IA and may serve as an alternative for further patient management with IA.
