Persistent COVID-19 symptoms and quality of life among the Dutch pediatric population

Abstract

<b>Introduction:</b> Although most children do not suffer any severe consequences after infection with SARS-CoV-2, some children do experience long-term sequelae of COVID-19. Therefore, we aimed to assess differences in the prevalence of persistent symptoms and quality of life (QoL) in respect to severity of acute COVID-19. <b>Methods:</b> Children (0-17 years) participating in two ongoing Dutch COVID-19 studies (COPP and PoCoCoChi) were categorized into 4 groups: no COVID (negative test), mild COVID (positive test, no hospital admission), moderate COVID (hospital admission, no ICU) and severe COVID (ICU admission). Follow-up surveys for persistent symptoms and QoL (PedsQL questionnaires, parent reported) were completed 6-12 weeks after hospital discharge or COVID-19 test. Differences between PedsQL scores were assessed using Kruskall-Wallis test. <b>Results:</b> Main results are depicted in Table 1. There was a significant difference in PedsQL scores between severe and mild COVID-19 (p=0.03) and between severe and no COVID-19 (p&lt;0.01). <b>Conclusion:</b> The current analyses suggest that the prevalence of persistent symptoms after 6-12 weeks of COVID-19 increases with the severity of acute disease, while quality of life declines. Our findings stress the importance of post-acute COVID-19 care in the pediatric population. To identify possible predictors or confounders, future research will need to rely on a larger population.