Document Type : original article
Authors
- Sedigheh Hasani Ranjbar 1
- Hosseinali Ghaffaripour 1
- Maryam Hassanzad 1
- Mahsa MirZendehdel 2
- Elham Sadati 1
1 Pediatric respiratory disease research center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Pediatric Respiratory Disease Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background: There is a paucity of quantitative studies on COVID-19 in children, and with the rising trend of infection in children, there is a need for more information in the clinical and paraclinical domains to be shared.
Objectives: The present research was designed to investigate the clinical and paraclinical characteristics of children with COVID-19 referred to Dr. Masih Daneshvari Hospital from September 2021 to September 2022 to provide insight into the diagnosis and effective management of COVID-19 infection in children.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, after obtaining ethical approval of 70 children (under 18 years old) with COVID-19 who met the study entry criteria were included Demographic characteristics, including the age and gender of the patients, as well as the family history of COVID-19 exposure, were recorded for the patients. CT scan findings of the patients, were documented according to a standard questionnaire, the study results were analyzed and examined using SPSS software to enhance the diagnosis.
Results: Among the 70 study subjects, 66 individuals (94.3%) tested positive for PCR-COVID, and four individuals tested negative for PCR-COVID. Only 38 cases (54.3%) reported common findings on CT scans. Fever, cough and lethargy were the most common clinical findings in the study population.
Conclusions: The presence of GGO on CT scans in children with COVID-19 should be regarded as an important indicator of worsening disease. Among the clinical symptoms of chills, dyspnea, and myalgia, their correlation with CT findings is significant—particularly when two or all three symptoms are present. This allows clinicians to predict pulmonary involvement with reasonable accuracy and may help in deciding when to avoid unnecessary CT scans.
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