Children, teens and young adults are at greater risk for severe
complications from COVID-19 than previously thought and those with underlying
health conditions are at even greater risk, according to a study coauthored by
a Rutgers researcher.
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, is the first to
describe the characteristics of seriously ill pediatric COVID-19 patients in
North America.
“The idea that
COVID-19 is sparing of young people is just false,” said study coauthor
Lawrence C. Kleinman, professor and vice chair for academic development and
chief of the Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Population Health, Quality
and Implementation Science at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“While children are more likely to get very sick if they have other chronic
conditions, including obesity, it is important to note that children without
chronic illness are also at risk. Parents need to continue to take the virus
seriously.”
The study
followed 48 children and young adults — from newborns to 21 years old — who
were admitted to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the United States
and Canada for COVID-19 in March and April. More than 80 percent had chronic
underlying conditions, such as immune suppression, obesity, diabetes, seizures
or chronic lung disease. Of those, 40 percent depended on technological support
due to developmental delays or genetic anomalies.
More than 20
percent experienced failure of two or more organ systems due to COVID-19, and
nearly 40 percent required a breathing tube and ventilator. At the end of the
follow-up period, nearly 33 percent of the children were still hospitalized due
to COVID-19, with three still requiring ventilator support and one on life
support. Two of the children admitted during the three-week study period died.
“This study
provides a baseline understanding of the early disease burden of COVID-19 in
pediatric patients,” said Hariprem Rajasekhar, a pediatric intensivist involved
in conducting the study at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics.
“The findings confirm that this emerging disease was already widespread in
March and that it is not universally benign among children.”
The researchers
said they were “cautiously encouraged” by hospital outcomes for the children
studied, citing the 4.2 percent mortality rate for PICU patients compared with
published mortality rates of up to 62 percent among adults admitted to ICUs, as
well as lower incidences of respiratory failure.
Kleinman noted
that doctors in the New York metropolitan area are seeing what appears to be a
new COVID-related syndrome in children.
“Although our
data collection for this study has ended, we continue to develop collaborations
with colleagues in our region and across the country to try to understand these
more severe complications,” he said, citing concerns such as heart failure and
the Kawasaki disease-like condition termed pediatric multi-system inflammatory
syndrome as examples.
Journal article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2766037
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