Descriptive Study on COVID-19 Infection in Children: A Case at the Security Forces Hospital (SFH)-AL Riyadh-Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Coronaviruses (CoV) are RNA respiratory viruses that present with a wide range of symptomatology which range from common cold to severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). In December 2019 a new strain was discovered in China named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), named “COVID-19” by World Health Organization (WHO). COVID-19 was predominantly more prevalent among adults more than or equal to 15 years of age in the early stages of the outbreak, and the proportion of confirmed cases among children was relatively small.

Objective: To study the prevalence and clinical presentation of COVID-19 among children attended pediatrics emergency department.

Results: from 1st March to 30^th of June 2020. During the study period, a total of 223 patients with age between 16 days and 12 years were diagnosed as positive COVID-19. Male were 52%. Fever was found in 39.9%, cough in 14.3%, and diarrhea in 3.6%.

Conclusion: our study gives a clue to the clinical presentation of COVID-19 in pediatric populations.