Prospective evaluation of health care services for children and adolescents with post-COVID-19 condition in Bavaria, Germany: study protocol.

Abstract

Some children and adolescents suffer from late effects of a SARS-CoV-2 infection despite frequently mild courses of the disease. Nevertheless, extensive care for Post-COVID in children and young people is not available yet. A comprehensive care network ("PoCo") for children and adolescents with Post-COVID has been setup as a model project in Bavaria, Germany. The aim of this study is to evaluate the health care services provided within these network structures of care for children and adolescents with Post-COVID in a pre-post study design. It is envisaged to recruit 160 children and adolescents up to 17 years with Post-COVID who are diagnosed and treated in 16 participating outpatient clinics. Health care utilization, treatment satisfaction, PROs (Patient Reported Outcomes) related to health-related quality of life (primary endpoint), fatigue, post-exertional malaise and mental health will be assessed at different time points (at baseline, after four weeks, three months and six months) using routine data, interviews and self-report questionnaires. The study is currently in the recruitment process. This will run from April 2022 until December 2022. Interim analyses will be carried out. A full analysis of the data will be conducted after recruitment is complete. The results will be published. The results will contribute to the evaluation of therapeutic services provided for Post-COVID in children and adolescents and avenues for optimizing care may be identified. DERR1-10.2196/41010.