COVID-19 less deadly and causes milder symptoms in children, UK study
finds

Date:
August 28, 2020
Source:
University of Edinburgh
Summary:
Children and teenagers are less likely than adults to develop
severe COVID-19 or die from the disease, according to the world's
largest study of hospital patients with COVID-19.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== [Child with face mask | Credit: (c) skif / stock.adobe.com] Child with
face mask (stock image).

Credit: (c) skif / stock.adobe.com [Child with face mask | Credit:
(c) skif / stock.adobe.com] Child with face mask (stock image).

Credit: (c) skif / stock.adobe.com Close Children and teenagers are less
likely than adults to develop severe Covid-19 or die from the disease, according to the world's largest study of hospital patients with Covid-19.


========================================================================== Obesity, Black ethnicity and being under one month old are factors that increased the risk of a child being admitted into intensive care with
the condition, the report said.

The findings also identify new symptoms of a severe inflammation syndrome
that significantly increases the risk of children with Covid-19 needing intensive care.

Researchers are calling for the WHO's definition of Multisystem
Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) to be updated to help doctors identify more children with the condition and improve their treatment.

The team led by researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and
Liverpool, Imperial College London and the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, recruited 651 children and young people aged 19 years or less
who had been admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

The study is led by ISARIC4C -- a global group of clinicians working
to prevent death from respiratory disease -- and involved 138 hospitals
across England, Wales and Scotland. The ISARIC4C Covid-19 study includes
two thirds of all people admitted to hospital with the disease.



==========================================================================
The findings suggest that it is rare for young people to end up
in hospital with Covid-19. They make up less than one per cent of
participants in the ISARIC study.

The typical age of children hospitalised was five-years-old. Some 42
per cent of patients had at least one other condition, the most common
included neurological conditions and asthma.

The number of children and young people who died from Covid-19 was
relatively low -- six in total -- when compared with adult deaths.

Three children who died were newborn babies born with other severe health problems. The other three children were aged 15 to 18 years old and also
had profound health issues.

Some 18 per cent of hospitalised children and young people were admitted
to intensive care. Experts say children most at risk of needing intensive
care were those under one month old and those aged 10 to 14 years
old. Similar to adults, obesity and Black ethnicity were also found to
be risk factors.



==========================================================================
The study also identified 52 patients who had MIS-C an inflammatory
syndrome.

The researchers found that these children were five times more likely
to be admitted to intensive care.

The symptoms usually seen in those with MIS-C include conjunctivitis,
a rash or gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain, vomiting
and diarrhea.

The study found new Covid-19 symptoms in children with MIS-C. These
include headaches, tiredness, muscle aches and a sore throat.

The study also found that the number of platelets -- a component of the
blood involved in clotting -- was much lower in the blood of children
with MIS-C than in those without the condition.

The combination of symptoms and low platelets may be important in
identifying children with MIS-C who may become more unwell, experts say.

This research was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and by
the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute
for Health Research (NIHR) as part of the UK Government's Covid-19 rapid research response.

Dr Olivia Swann, lead author and Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric
Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Researchers
often want to call attention to large numbers of patients in their
studies, however, we want to highlight that children made up only
a fraction of a percent of all Covid-19 admissions across the UK in
our study and that severe disease was rare." Professor Calum Semple,
Professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine and Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at the University of Liverpool, said: "The diligent work
of our colleagues working in Child Health and the NIHR Clinical Research Network across the UK has led to this report which is the largest and most detailed description of covid-19 and MIS-C in children and young people.

We have provided new understanding about MIS-C which will help manage
this rare but serious condition, but parents can now be reassured that
severe covid-19 is very rare in children." Dr Louisa Pollock, Consultant
in Paediatric Infectious Disease at the Royal Hospital for Children,
Glasgow, said: "Parents should be reassured by this study which confirms
very few children were seriously affected by Covid-19. As children return
to school, and over the winter months, it is important we continue to
monitor Covid-19 in children." Professor Fiona Watt, Medical Research
Council Chief Executive, said: "This is a significant study involving
138 hospitals across England, Wales and Scotland showing that children
and teenagers are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19 or
die from the disease. Indeed, the findings suggest it is rare for young
people to end up in hospital with COVID-19.

"However, while the overall the risk for young people is lower, the
added risks of obesity and ethnicity are shared with adults. We need
to understand this, and also why a very small number of children are
suffering from an inflammatory syndrome. Obviously the goal is to ensure
that everyone who develops COVID-19 has the most appropriate treatment."
The research findings are published in the BMJ.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Edinburgh. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Olivia V Swann, Karl A Holden, Lance Turtle, Louisa Pollock,
Cameron J
Fairfield, Thomas M Drake, Sohan Seth, Conor Egan, Hayley E
Hardwick, Sophie Halpin, Michelle Girvan, Chloe Donohue, Mark
Pritchard, Latifa B Patel, Shamez Ladhani, Louise Sigfrid, Ian P
Sinha, Piero L Olliaro, Jonathan S Nguyen-Van-Tam, Peter W Horby,
Laura Merson, Gail Carson, Jake Dunning, Peter J M Openshaw, J
Kenneth Baillie, Ewen M Harrison, Annemarie B Docherty, Malcolm
G Semple. Clinical characteristics of children and young people
admitted to hospital with covid-19 in United Kingdom: prospective
multicentre observational cohort study. BMJ, 2020; m3249 DOI:
10.1136/bmj.m3249 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200827205417.htm

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