COVID-19 screening in a Portuguese pediatric population

OBJECTIVE: To assess the characteristics of suspected coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and the rate of confirmed COVID-19 in a pediatric population at the beginning of the pandemic in Portugal. STUDY DESIGN: Suspected COVID-19 pediatric cases that were tested in a Portuguese hospital between March 17 and April 2 2020 were included in this descriptive retrospective study. The analyzed data included socio-demographic parameters, characteristics of the household, underlying medical conditions and symptoms. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients were included and all of them were symptomatic and treated without hospitalization. The most common symptoms were cough (80%;n = 75), rhinorrhea (72%;n = 68) and fever (60%;n = 56). There was only one positive for SARS-CoV-2 in a five-year-old child with mild illness without epidemiologic linkage. CONCLUSION: This study showed a low rate of confirmed COVID-19 in children. The causes for this low rate can be multifactorial and illustrates how differently this virus spreads in the pediatric population.