Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Human Coronaviruses-Associated Infections in Children: A Multi-Center Study

BACKGROUND: Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are associated with upper respiratory tract infections. Although studies have analyzed the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of HCoV-associated infections, no multi-center studies have been conducted in Korean children. We aimed to describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of HCoV-associated infection in children. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of children in whom HCoVs were detected using multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction amplification in five centers from January 2015 to December 2019. RESULTS: Overall, 1,096 patients were enrolled. Among them, 654 (59.7%) patients were male. The median age was 1 year [interquartile range (IQR), 0–2 years]. HCoVs were identified mainly in winter (55.9%). HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, and HCoOV-NL63 were detected mainly in winter (70.9, 55.8, and 57.4%, respectively), but HCoV-HKU1 was mainly identified in spring (69.7%). HCoV-OC43 (66.0%) was detected most frequently, followed by HCoV-NL63 (33.3%), and HCoV-229E (7.7%). Two different types of HCoVs were co-detected in 18 samples, namely. Alphacoronavirus-betacoronavirus co-infection (n = 13) and, alphacoronavirus-alphacoronavirus co-infection (n = 5). No betacoronavirus-betacoronavirus co-infection was detected. Patients were diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection (41.4%), pneumonia (16.6%), acute bronchiolitis (15.5%), non-specific febrile illness (13.1%), croup (7.3%), and acute gastroenteritis (5.1%). There were 832 (75.9%) hospitalized patients with a median duration of hospitalization of 4 days (IQR, 3–5 days); 108 (9.9%) patients needed supplemental oxygen with 37 (3.4%) needing high-flow nasal cannula or mechanical ventilation. There were no deaths. CONCLUSION: HCoV-associated infections exhibit marked seasonality with peaks in winter. Patients with lower respiratory tract infection, a history of prematurity, or underlying chronic diseases may progress to a severe course and may need oxygen therapy.