Prevalence and outcomes of COVID-19 in children with respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms

Abstract

More than a year after its declaration as a pandemic, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a global health problem. The common symptoms of COVID-19 are like the presentation of common childhood illnesses. Hence, we determined the prevalence, and outcomes of COVID-19 in children with respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms.This study was a retrospective review of data obtained from the screening of children with respiratory and or gastrointestinal symptoms for COVID-19. All children aged 1 month to 18 years with respiratory and or gastrointestinal symptoms were screened for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The tests for COVID-19 along their socio-demographic and clinical parameters were extracted from the hospital records.We recruited 129 children with a median (IQR) age of 1.1(0.5 – 2.3) years. Most of the children 111(86.0%) were under-five. Out of 129 children, 13 (10.1%) were positive for COVID-19 and 10 of the 13 positive cases were under-five. The COVID-19 status had no relationship with age, gender, and socioeconomic status, p >0.05. Children with a history of contact with a confirmed case had a significant association with COVID-19 (OR 110.368, CI 5.519-2207.306). Amongst the clinical features, the presence of fever was associated with COVID-19 (OR 4.4 CI 1.239-14.750)Conclusion: This study shows a higher likelihood of COVID-19 in children with a history of contact and fever.