Coronavirus-19 and its Epidemiology in Children − An Ambispective Observational Study from Central India

This ambispective observational study, was conducted at a tertiary care centre in Central India. Children aged <16 y who tested positive for SARS-CoV2 between 1st April 2020 to 30th April 2022 were included. The prevalence of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection was 1.2%. Of 525 children, median age was 60 mo; 88 (16.7%) were infants. Comorbidities were noted in 89 (16.9%) children. About 59% (n=309) were asymptomatic. Among symptomatic (n=216) children, fever (57.9%) was the most common symptom followed by cough (37%), running nose (21.3%) and shortness of breath (13.9%). Forty-three (8.2%) children required pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission, among which 21 required invasive ventilation. Patients with comorbidities were independently associated with need for invasive mechanical ventilation. Among PICU admitted children, 20 patients died. In multivariate logistic regression, children presenting with fever, shortness of breath and vasoactive requirement were found to be significantly associated with mortality. As the number of waves progressed, number of admissions were less but severity, association with comorbidities, need of ICU, mechanical ventilation and death rate increased.