How COVID-19 affects children: a review article

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected 550,369 confirmed cases, with 8,856 fatalities. COVID-19 was more common in adults over 15 during the early outbreak, and the proportion of confirmed cases among youngsters was relatively low. In addition, children with COVID-19 are asymptomatic or have mild clinical symptoms compared to adults. The present study reviewed the clinical features, signs, symptoms, and effect of COVID-19 in children. This review was performed through an electronic literature search for relevant studies identified using keywords on the MEDLINE database between 2020 and 2021, inclusive: COVID-19, COVID-19 in children, coronavirus, novel coronavirus in children, COVID-19 symptoms in children, COVID-19 effect in children. Similar keywords were used to peruse and identify relevant articles on Google Scholar. The articles were chosen based on defined inclusion criteria. The current review included papers published between 2020 and 2021. The review was written under specific titles in the discussion part. This review concluded that children of all ages are susceptible to getting COVID-19 due to human-to-human transmission. COVID-19 has a milder clinical course, quicker recovery, and a better prognosis in children than adults. Infants less than 1 year and children with underlying chronic disorders were at higher risk of having severe forms of COVID-19. Septic shock, toxic encephalopathy, multiple organ failure syndromes, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and status epilepticus were the most common consequences identified in children with severe forms of COVID-19. Infection prevention by isolation of diseased children is critical, as is thorough surveillance, early diagnosis of illness complications, and the ability to treat patients on time while preventing secondary dissemination.