Abstract

Background: The long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in children remain poorly characterised. This study aimed to assess long-term outcomes in children previously hospitalised with Covid-19 and associated risk factors. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of children (≤18 years old) admitted with confirmed Covid-19. Children admitted to the hospital between April 2, 2020 and August 26, 2020, were included. Telephone interview using the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) Covid-19 Health and Wellbeing paediatric follow-up survey. Persistent symptoms (>5 months) were further categorised by system(s) involved. Findings: 518 of 853 (61%) of eligible children were available for the follow-up assessment and included in the study. Median age was 10.4 years (IQR, 3–15.2) and 270 (52.1%) were girls; median follow-up since hospital discharge was 256 (223–271) days. At the time of the follow-up interview 126 (24.3%) participants reported persistent symptoms among which fatigue (53, 10.7%), sleep disturbance (36, 6.9%,) and sensory problems (29, 5.6%) were the most common. Multiple symptoms were experienced by 44 (8.4%) participants. Risk factors for persistent symptoms were: older age “6–11 years” (odds ratio 2.74 (95% confidence interval 1.37 to 5.75) and “12–18 years” (2.68, 1.41 to 5.4); and a history of allergic diseases (1.67, 1.04 to 2.67). Interpretation: A quarter of children experienced persistent symptoms months after hospitalization with acute covid-19 infection, with almost one in ten experiencing multi-system involvement. Older age and allergic diseases were associated with higher risk of persistent symptoms at follow-up.

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This version is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence 4.0.

Cite as

Osmanov, I., Spiridonova, E., Bobkova, P., Gamirova, A., Shikhaleva, A., Andreeva, M., Blyuss, O., El-Taravi, Y., DunnGalvin, A., Comberiati, P., Peroni, D., Apfelbacher, C., Genuneit, J., Mazankova, L., Miroshina, A., Chistyakova, E., Samitova, E., Borzakova, S., Bondarenko, E., Korsunskiy, A., Konova, I., Hanson, S., Carson, G., Sigfrid, L., Scott, J., Greenhawt, M., Whittaker, E., Garralda, E., Swann, O., Buonsenso, D., Nicholls, D., Simpson, F., Jones, C., Semple, M., Warner, J., Vos, T., Olliaro, P. & Munblit, D. 2021, 'Risk factors for long covid in previously hospitalised children using the ISARIC Global follow-up protocol: A prospective cohort study', European Respiratory Journal. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01341-2021

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Last updated: 26 October 2022
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