tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Arch Pediatr
. 2023 Feb 7;S0929-693X(23)00018-0.
doi: 10.1016/j.arcped.2023.01.008. Online ahead of print.
Evaluation of possible COVID-19 reinfection in children: A multicenter clinical study
İrem Ceren Erbaş[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yıldız Ekemen Keleş[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emine Hafize Erdeniz[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ayşe Tekin Yılmaz[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Edanur Yeşil[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Özlem Çakıcı[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Mehtap Akça[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Nursel Kara Ulu[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Fatih Dinç[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Dilek Yılmaz Çiftdoğan[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Selim Öncel[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Necdet Kuyucu[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Anıl Tapısız[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Nurşen Belet[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Although it was originally unknown whether there would be cases of reinfection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as seen with other coronaviruses, cases of reinfection were reported from various regions recently. However, there is little information about reinfection in children.
Methods: In this study, we aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical findings of reinfection in pediatric patients who had recovered from COVID-19. We retrospectively evaluated all patients under 18 years of age with COVID-19 infection from a total of eight healthcare facilities in Turkey, between March 2020 and July 2021. Possible reinfection was defined as a record of confirmed COVID-19 infection based on positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results at least 3 months apart.
Results: A possible reinfection was detected in 11 out of 8840 children, which yielded an incidence of 0.12%. The median duration between two episodes of COVID-19 was 196 (92-483) days. When initial and second episodes were compared, the rates of symptomatic and asymptomatic disease were similar for both, as was the severity of the disease (p = 1.000). Also, there was no significant difference in duration of symptoms (p = 0.498) or in hospitalization rates (p = 1.000). Only one patient died 15 days after PCR positivity, which resulted in a 9.1% mortality rate for cases of reinfection in pediatric patients.
Conclusion: We observed that children with COVID-19 were less likely to be exposed to reinfection when compared with adults. Although the clinical spectrum of reinfection was mostly similar to the first episode, we reported death of a healthy child during the reinfection.
Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Pediatrics; Reinfection; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2023 Feb 7;S0929-693X(23)00018-0.
doi: 10.1016/j.arcped.2023.01.008. Online ahead of print.
Evaluation of possible COVID-19 reinfection in children: A multicenter clinical study
İrem Ceren Erbaş[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yıldız Ekemen Keleş[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emine Hafize Erdeniz[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ayşe Tekin Yılmaz[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Edanur Yeşil[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Özlem Çakıcı[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Mehtap Akça[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Nursel Kara Ulu[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Fatih Dinç[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Dilek Yılmaz Çiftdoğan[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Selim Öncel[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Necdet Kuyucu[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Anıl Tapısız[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Nurşen Belet[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36804354
- DOI: 10.1016/j.arcped.2023.01.008
Abstract
Background: Although it was originally unknown whether there would be cases of reinfection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as seen with other coronaviruses, cases of reinfection were reported from various regions recently. However, there is little information about reinfection in children.
Methods: In this study, we aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical findings of reinfection in pediatric patients who had recovered from COVID-19. We retrospectively evaluated all patients under 18 years of age with COVID-19 infection from a total of eight healthcare facilities in Turkey, between March 2020 and July 2021. Possible reinfection was defined as a record of confirmed COVID-19 infection based on positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results at least 3 months apart.
Results: A possible reinfection was detected in 11 out of 8840 children, which yielded an incidence of 0.12%. The median duration between two episodes of COVID-19 was 196 (92-483) days. When initial and second episodes were compared, the rates of symptomatic and asymptomatic disease were similar for both, as was the severity of the disease (p = 1.000). Also, there was no significant difference in duration of symptoms (p = 0.498) or in hospitalization rates (p = 1.000). Only one patient died 15 days after PCR positivity, which resulted in a 9.1% mortality rate for cases of reinfection in pediatric patients.
Conclusion: We observed that children with COVID-19 were less likely to be exposed to reinfection when compared with adults. Although the clinical spectrum of reinfection was mostly similar to the first episode, we reported death of a healthy child during the reinfection.
Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Pediatrics; Reinfection; SARS-CoV-2.