#60 TWO MONTH FOLLOW-UP OF PATIENTS WITH ACUTE COVID-19 AND MULTISYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME IN CHILDREN

Abstract

BackgroundChildren infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are usually asymptomatic or have mild coronavirus disease (COVID) with low rates of hospitalization. Two long-term consequences have been described after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The first is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and the second is “long COVID”. Data on long COVID in pediatric patients has increasingly been published, giving new insights into the ways this phenomenon affects children. This study aimed to describe the persistent symptom spectrum of patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and MIS-C two months after the diagnosis.MethodThis was a prospective cohort study conducted at the Children's Clinical University Hospital in Latvia. The study population of pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C patients were invited to participate between December 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021. The study included children with moderate and severe acute SARS-CoV-2 infection who required hospitalization and MIS-C. Overall, 53 acute Covid-19 and 22 MIS-C patients were enrolled in the study. All patients were evaluated by specially designed assessment protocols. The Ethics Committee of Riga Stradins University reviewed and approved the study protocol questionnaire and informed consent forms (approval No. 6-1/07/35). Descriptive statistics were used to present the data.ResultsData showed that two months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection 84% (n=45) of patients had at least one persistent symptom. In addition, 73% (n=16) of MIS-C patients reported at least one persistent symptom. Generally, the most commonly reported complaints among COVID-19 patients included rhinorrhea (41%), cognitive sequelae such as mood swings (38%) and irritability (36%), prolonged cough (30%), anxiety (19%), night sweats (15%), sore throat and shortness of breath (13%). In the MIS-C patient group - body weight changes and mood swings (36%), irritability (27%), poor attention (23%), fatigue (18%), and in 14% of cases were observed myalgia, night sweats, difficulties concentrating and anxiety. There were other similar but less common complaints in both groups, such as prolonged fever, nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness and memory impairment.ConclusionWe found that at the time of interview more than half of COVID-19 and MIS-C patients reported at least one persistent symptom. Symptoms including rhinorrhea, mood swings, irritability, prolonged cough, poor attention and fatigue were the most frequently reported complaints of long COVID-19 after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and MIS-C, representing the wide range of symptoms affecting children.