Rapid Clinical Deterioration With Sepsis and Persistent Hypertension in a Pediatric Patient During Recent COVID-19 Crisis

We present a child with a clear and classic COVID-19 symptomatic picture that rapidly progressed to sepsis with persistent hypertension. This patient, a five-year-old Hispanic female child was brought to our emergency department on March 21, 2020, with fever, productive cough, shortness of breath with chest tightness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea for a week. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she developed sepsis within 24 hours, needing intensive care unit admission and ventilator support. She tested negative for COVID-19 Biofire ® nucleic acid tests (BioFire Diagnostics, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 USA); however, she was recently exposed to COVID-19 cases at her school. This case highlights the importance of a high index of COVID-19 suspicion in children in the endemic areas despite negative COVID-19 tests for keeping a watchful eye to prevent sudden deterioration and unexpected complications.