Clinical Characteristics of Pediatric Patients With COVID-19 at Different Epidemiological Times. Cienfuegos (2020-2022)

Abstract

Introduction: The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are presented with different particularities at each epidemiological moment. 

Objective: To examine the clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with COVID-19 during the acute phase of hospitalization, at different epidemiological times.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in the province of Cienfuegos. 784 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 2020 and March 2022 were studied. The following variables were analyzed: age, sex, origin, personal pathological history, initial symptomatology, clinical classification, complications, stay, evolution and epidemiological moment.

Results: The most hospitalized children were children under five years of age (57%) with a slight predominance of females (52%). 71% of the sample had no comorbidities. The symptomatic form of the disease manifested itself in 57% of patients, and the asymptomatic in 42%. Only 1% had severe forms of the infection. The highest percentage of symptomatic cases occurred at the epidemiological moment in which the Ómicron strain prevailed. Fever, cough, and runny nose were, in that order, the predominant clinical manifestations. 4% of the patients had pneumonia, and there was one death in the series. 67% discharged after a stay of one to six days. 

Conclusions: Differences were found in the clinical behavior of COVID-19, in its different epidemiological moments in Cienfuegos. The way SARS-CoV-2 infection occurs may be similar to other viral respiratory infections. This requires maintaining surveillance for this disease in children.