Contributing factors to pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C during the initial waves: A systematic review of 92 case reports

BACKGROUND: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to sweep the world with unprecedented speed and devastation, data has shown that cases in the pediatric population have been significantly lower than in the adult population. We conducted a systematic review of case reports to identify the contributing factors of confirmed pediatric COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Using the PubMed platform, and Cochrane Central, we searched for primary studies alone. All database searches were performed between December 2019 and December 2020. We incorporated keywords including “pediatrics,” “Case reports,” “Cases,” “Covid-19″ into all searches. RESULTS: A total of 92 records were included in this novel review. Of all patients, 58% were male and the mean age of the patients was 6.2 years (SD: 5.9). Contributing factors to MIS-C infections were G6PD deficiency (17.6%), Group A streptococcus co-infection (17.6%), infancy (11.8%), whereas those in COVID-19 pediatric patients included congenital (18.5%), and genetic defects (13.8%), in addition to vertical transmission or during infancy (16.9%). Data of baseline demographic characteristics and clinical sequelae of included COVID-19 pediatric and MIS-C patients is presented. CONCLUSION: With schools reopening and closing, the pediatric age group is susceptible to high rates of COVID-19 community transmission. We provide insights into potential contributing factors to pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C patients. These insights are critical to guide future guidelines on the management and potential vaccination efforts.