Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children with confirmed COVID-19 infection in a tertiary referral hospital in Manila, Philippines

• Published in: Tropical Medicine and Health
• Main Authors: Rhanee Lota-Salvado, Jay Ron Padua, Kristal An Agrupis, Greco Mark Malijan, Ana Ria Sayo, Shuichi Suzuki, Grace Devota Go, Chris Smith
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; Epidemiology; Philippines; Children; Pediatric; Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC); Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00507-x; https://doaj.org/article/a1f039e3105345318e6408d937b28d1e

Abstract Background COVID-19 has challenged the under-resourced health systems of low- and middle-income countries, significantly affecting child health. Available published data on Filipino children with COVID-19 infection are limited. This study aims to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with confirmed COVID-19 in an infectious disease hospital in Manila, Philippines. Main text This cross-sectional study reviewed data on patients ages 0 to 18 years with confirmed COVID-19 infection, admitted to San Lazaro Hospital from January 25, 2020 to January 25, 2022. Demographic data and clinical characteristics obtained from COVID-19 case investigation forms were summarized and compared between severe and non-severe cases. Risk factors for disease severity and mortality were analyzed. Of 115 patients, 64% were males. There were 87 patients (75.7%) with asymptomatic, mild, or moderate disease, and 28 cases (24.3%) with severe or critical illness. The median age of all patients was 10 years (interquartile range: 4–15 years). The majority of patients (40.9%) were adolescents ages 13 to 18 years. Predominant symptoms were fever (73.9%) and cough (55.7%). Patients with severe or critical illness were more likely to experience difficulty of breathing (55.2% vs 44.8%, p < 0.001), and have a longer hospital stay (11 days vs 8 days, p = 0.043). Among all patients, 48.7% had at least one underlying disease; and common infectious co-morbidities were tuberculosis (17.4%), dengue (12.2%), and HIV (4.3%). Having tuberculosis (p = 0.008) or at least one co-morbidity (p < 0.001) was associated with disease severity. Ten patients (8.7%) died; and mortality was higher among those with severe or critical illness (80% vs 20%, p < 0.001). Sepsis (p = 0.020) or having at least one co-morbidity (p = 0.007) was associated with death. Conclusion Children of all ages remain susceptible to COVID-19 infection, and usually present with mild or moderate symptoms. In this study, many adolescents ...