Influenza vs. COVID-19: Comparison of Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Pediatric Patients in Mexico City

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Almudena Laris-González¹  Rodolfo Jiménez-Juárez²  Martha Avilés-Robles¹  Clemen Domínguez-Barrera¹  Israel Parra-Ortega³  José Luis Sánchez-Huerta³  Karla Ojeda-Diezbarroso¹  Sergio Bonilla-Pellegrini¹  Víctor Olivar-López⁴  Adrián Chávez-López⁵ 

[1] Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez;Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Infectología “Daniel Méndez Hernández;Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez;Department of Emergency Medicine, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez;Department of Pediatric Intensive Care, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez

关键词: influenza;    COVID-19;    SARS;    CoV;    2;    children;    clinical chracteristics;    outcome;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2021.676611

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Introduction: Respiratory viruses are among the leading causes of disease and death among children. Co-circulation of influenza and SARS-CoV2 can lead to diagnostic and management difficulties given the similarities in the clinical picture. Methods: This is a cohort of all children hospitalized with SARS-CoV2 infection from March to September 3rd 2020, and all children admitted with influenza throughout five flu-seasons (2013–2018) at a pediatric referral hospital. Patients with influenza were identified from the clinical laboratory database. All hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection were followed-up prospectively. Results: A total of 295 patients with influenza and 133 with SARS-CoV2 infection were included. The median age was 3.7 years for influenza and 5.3 years for SARS-CoV2. Comorbidities were frequent in both groups, but they were more common in patients with influenza (96.6 vs. 82.7%, p < 0.001). Fever and cough were the most common clinical manifestations in both groups. Rhinorrhea was present in more than half of children with influenza but was infrequent in those with COVID-19 (53.6 vs. 5.8%, p < 0.001). Overall, 6.4% percent of patients with influenza and 7.5% percent of patients with SARS-CoV2 infection died. In-hospital mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation among symptomatic patients were similar between groups in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Influenza and COVID-19 have a similar picture in pediatric patients, which makes diagnostic testing necessary for adequate diagnosis and management. Even though most cases of COVID-19 in children are asymptomatic or mild, the risk of death among hospitalized patients with comorbidities may be substantial, especially among infants.

【 授权许可】

CC BY