Clinical Manifestations and CT Scan Features in Children with COVID-۱۹

Background: There is a paucity of quantitative studies on COVID-۱۹ in children, and with the rising trend of infection in children, there is a need for more information in the clinical and paraclinical domains to be shared.Objectives: The present research was designed to investigate the clinical and paraclinical manifestations of children with COVID-۱۹ referred to Dr. Masih Daneshvari Hospital from September ۲۰۲۱ to September ۲۰۲۲ to maintain intuition into assessment and effective management of COVID-۱۹ infection in children.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, ۷۰ children (under ۱۸ years old) with COVID-۱۹ who met the study entry criteria were included. Demographic characteristics, including the age and gender of the patients, as well as the family history of COVID-۱۹ exposure, were recorded for the patients. CT scan findings of the patients were documented according to a standard questionnaire. The study results were analyzed and examined using SPSS software to enhance the diagnosis.Results: Among the ۷۰ study subjects, ۶۶ individuals (۹۴.۳%) tested positive for PCR-COVID, and four individuals tested negative for PCR-COVID. Only ۳۸ cases (۵۴.۳%) reported common findings on CT scans. Fever, cough, and lethargy were the most common clinical findings in the study population.Conclusions: The presence of GGO on CT scans in children with COVID-۱۹ should be regarded as an important indicator of the disease worsening. Among the clinical symptoms of chills, dyspnea, and myalgia had significant correlations with CT findings—particularly when two or all three symptoms were present. This allows clinicians to predict pulmonary involvement with reasonable accuracy and may help in deciding when to avoid unnecessary CT scans.

کلیدواژه ها:

COVID-۱۹ ، Computed Tomography (CT) ، chills ، Dyspnea ، Fever ، Ground-Glass Opacity (GGO) ، Myalgia