What a study on long Covid in children found
Incidence and clinical features of long Covid in children. All the results of the largest study to date
It continues to remain a pathology shrouded in fog like the brain fog that causes the aftermath of those who wear it. The long Covid, two and a half years after the outbreak of the pandemic, still generates questions and leaves doubts and questions unresolved.
As for the different effects that Covid produces in each individual, it appears difficult to find a single explanation for all those who experience symptoms or simply discomfort even months after being healed from the infection.
A recent study , conducted from March 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021 and published in Jama Pediatrics , specifically investigated the symptoms, diagnosed health conditions and medications associated with long Covid in children.
Here's what he found.
THE LARGEST LONG COVID STUDY IN CHILDREN
Suchitra Rao's team, author of the study and specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado, analyzed the medical records of 659,286 patients aged 0 to 21, thus making the largest research conducted so far on long Covid in children.
THE SYMPTOMS FOUND DURING AND AFTER THE INFECTION
According to the study, the symptoms, diagnosed health conditions, and medications most correlated with SARS-CoV-2 infection were taste / odor loss, myocarditis, and cough and cold preparations, respectively.
Of the nearly 600,000 people involved, 60,000 tested positive for the coronavirus and about 42% showed that they still have at least one symptom four weeks after infection.
PASC IN CHILDREN
The study's goal was to identify symptoms, diagnosed health conditions, and medications associated with Sars-CoV-2 Post Acute Sequelae, known as PASC, in children.
The PASC, explains Sanità Information , is a long cardiovascular Covid and affects 10-30% of infected patients, even four months after recovery. The most common symptoms are chest pain, palpitations, changes in the heartbeat, but also fatigue and breathing difficulties.
THE RESULTS
The syndromic (symptoms), systemic (conditions) and pharmacological characteristics of PASC, the study reads, were identified in the 28-179 days following the initial test date.
As anticipated, the most common were respectively: loss of taste or smell, myocarditis and preparations for coughs and colds.
The incidence of at least 1 systemic, syndromic, or pharmacological feature of PASC was 41.9% among viral test positive children compared to 38.2% among negative children. Myocarditis was the most commonly diagnosed condition associated with PASC.
Overall, it was found that long Covid affects children less than adults and a greater correlation with PASC was identified in patients cared for in the intensive care unit during the acute phase of the disease, in children under the age of 5 and in subjects with complex chronic conditions.
ARE THE CASES OF LONG COVID OVERESTIMATED?
According to Andrea Campana, head of the Covid Center in Palidoro of the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, interviewed by Repubblica , there is an overestimation of cases considered to be long Covid for three reasons. The first concerns the definition of the term which can sometimes differ. The second has to do with the ways in which data are collected but above all the third deserves attention.
For Campana, in fact, “the social consequences of isolation, restrictions and Dad are often mistaken for long Covid”.
THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC ON CHILDREN
The expert believes that the most important signs to monitor in addition to any symptoms are in the daily life of the child or adolescent : "If after the infection the boy is noticed that he cries often, he feels insecure, his social life is reduced, he is tired, listless, anxious, you have to go to the doctor ”.
“In younger children, however, – continues Campana – a regression can be noted, for example they go back to sleep with mum and dad or are no longer able to control their sphincters as before. Also in this case the pediatrician should be consulted. We are collecting the data of all the newborns hospitalized by us in recent years to ascertain whether Covid may cause them, in the future, cognitive delays ".
NEW SYMPTOMS BUT THE LONG COVID IS HEALING
The pediatrician then reports that new symptoms are being observed that may arise after the disease, such as inflammatory organ syndromes, often intestinal and skin.
In addition, there is another pathology that is attracting the attention of experts. “We have seen triple the cases of fibro-Covid, fibromyalgia induced by Sars-Cov-2 – added Campana -. It should also be remembered that this virus can trigger latent, rheumatological, metabolic and hematological diseases. So beware of strange and unusual symptoms that can appear in children even after some time ".
But despite many questions about the long Covid remain unanswered, Campana assures that "the long Covid is cured, sometimes it takes weeks, other months, it depends on subjective factors, but everyone returns to health".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/ecco-cosa-ha-scoperto-uno-studio-sul-long-covid-nei-bambini/ on Sun, 11 Sep 2022 05:23:07 +0000.