Survival and Mortality in Hospitalized Children with COVID-19: A Referral Center Experience in Yazd, Iran

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 prognostic risk factors, therapeutic protocols, and clinical outcomes in pediatric cases are still under investigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This historical cohort study evaluated the survival time of hospitalized children (1 month–18 years old) with COVID-19 admitted from March 2020 to August 2021 to an educational hospital in Yazd, Iran. The follow-up of patients was performed at least one month after discharge. RESULTS: From 183 hospitalized cases, 24 children were deceased. The median age of patients was 5.41, and 54.2% were male. The survival rate after one-month follow-up was 0.88, and the most significant predictors associated with survival time were the male sex, positive history of hospitalization, lymphopenia, hypoxia, and length of stay more than two weeks using Bayesian Cox regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Accurate estimation of the impact of predictors on poor outcomes may help healthcare providers use therapeutic protocols based on risk factors and healthcare requirements of each patient to improve their survival.