Clinical characteristics of pediatric patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 versus common human coronaviruses: a national multicenter study

BACKGROUND: Human coronaviruses (HCoV) cause mild upper respiratory infections; however, in 2019, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged, causing an acute respiratory disease pandemic. Coronaviruses exhibit marked epidemiological and clinical differences. PURPOSE: This study compared the clinical, laboratory, and radiographic findings of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 versus HCoV. METHODS: SARS-CoV-2 data were obtained from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) registry and 4 dedicated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitals. Medical records of children admitted with a single HCoV infection from January 2015 to March 2020 were collected from 10 secondary/tertiary hospitals. Clinical data included age, sex, underlying disease, symptoms, test results, imaging findings, treatment, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: We compared the clinical characteristics of children infected with HCoV (n=475) to those of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 (272 from KDCA, 218 from COVID-19 hospitals). HCoV patients were younger than KDCA patients (older than 9 years:3.6% vs. 75.7%; P<0.001) and patients at COVID-19 hospitals (2.0±2.9 vs 11.3±5.3; P<0.001). Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection had a lower rate of fever (26.6% vs. 66.7%; P<0.001) and fewer respiratory symptoms than those with HCoV infection. Clinical severity, as determined by oxygen therapy and medication usage, was worse in children with HCoV infection. Children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2 had less severe symptoms. CONCLUSION: Children and adolescents with COVID-19 had a milder clinical course and less severe disease than those with HCoV in terms of symptoms at admission, examination findings, and laboratory and radiology results.