Comprehensive Investigation of Demographic, Clinical, and Paraclinical Findings in Hospitalized Children with COVID-19

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Background: Given the differing characteristics of COVID-19 in children compared to adults, there is a need for comprehensive investigations of associated factors in hospitalized children. Objectives: Therefore, we aimed to assess demographic, clinical, and paraclinical findings in hospitalized children with COVID-19. Methods: This study divided hospitalized patients aged three months to 18 years with a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test into two groups: Severe and mild cases. Risk factors, including age, sex, weight, place of residence, clinical symptoms, lung involvement in chest X-rays, and laboratory parameters, were compared between these two groups (mild and severe). Results: The study included 375 hospitalized patients (75 severe and 300 mild cases). The mean age was 7.50 ± 5.57 months. Among the patients, 215 males (58%) were enrolled. Severe cases exhibited a higher frequency of sleepiness (40%) and shortness of breath (41.3%). Clinical signs such as respiratory rate (35 breaths/min) and heart rate (120 bpm) were higher in severe cases, while blood oxygen levels (92%) were lower. Severe cases also showed higher lung involvement in radiographs (85.7%). Among laboratory factors, white blood cell count (8650), neutrophils (6762), and lymphocytes (2090) were higher in severe cases, while alkaline phosphatase (320.5) was lower. Conclusions: Our results highlighted key findings regarding demographic, clinical, and paraclinical features in hospitalized children with COVID-19, offering valuable insights into this novel phenomenon. The study recommends close monitoring of patients with symptoms such as shortness of breath and sleepiness to prevent disease progression to a severe state.