Comparison of Clinic and Demographic Characteristics of Children with Laboratory-Confirmed and Suspected COVID-19 who Admitted to Pediatric Emergency Clinic

Authors : Fatma Durak, Gülçin Bozlu, Asuman Akar, Merve Havan, Berfin Özgökçe Özmen, Necdet Kuyucu

Pages : 141-147

Doi:10.54996/anatolianjem.1252517

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Publication Date : 2023-12-29

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Aim: To determine the frequency of COVID-19 infection in children and to compare the parameters of laboratory-confirmed and suspected cases. Material and Methods: Medical records collected with a prospective design of 1300 pediatric patients who applied to COVID-19 triage of pediatric emergency service. Clinic and demographic characteristics of children with laboratory-confirmed and suspected COVID-19 were compared. Nasopharyngeal swab sample was taken from all pediatric patients in accordance with the possible case definition determined by the national Ministry of Health. Results: The COVID-19 test was found positive in 94 (7.2%) children. Of those, 34.5% children had a history of contact, and 31.9% of all cases were asymptomatic. The mean age of children who were positive for COVID-19 was higher than those who were negative (p <0.001). COVID-19 positive cases had a higher domestic contact history than those who were negative (79.8% and 31%, respectively, p <0.001). The mean WBC, platelet, neutrophil, RDW, procalcitonin, CRP, LDH and total bilirubin values of COVID-19 positive patients were found as significantly lower than COVID-19 negative patients (p <0.05). Conclusion: We found that there was a statistically significant difference between COVID-19 positive and negative patients in terms of age and laboratory parameters. We have shown that most patients with positive COVID-19 test are asymptomatic, have a high rate of contact history and require hospitalization.
Keywords : COVID 19, çocuklar, acil durum, klinik kursu, laboratuvar, bulaşma