COVID-19 in transplant recipient children: An Iranian referral hospital-based study

Ghazizadeh Esslami, Golnaz; Mahmoudi, Shima; Navaeian, Amene; Behfar, Maryam; Hamidieh, Amir Ali; Alimadadi, Hosein; Mahmoudieh, Yasmine; Mamishi, Setareh

To our knowledge, there is still very limited information on the severity, mortality, laboratory, and radiologic findings of COVID-19 infection in transplant patients, particularly children. In this study, we reported 7 transplant recipients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. The median age was 7.5 years (IQR: 31month-10 years), and 71% of the patients were male. All cases presented with a fever. The median duration of fever before admission was 2 days (IQR:1-8 days). Five patients (71%) experienced cough and dyspnea. Lymphocytopenia (Median of 0.6 (IQR: 0.14-2.0 × 10(9) cells per L) and thrombocytopenia (Median of 65 (IQR: 49-201 × 10(9) cells per L) were the most common CBC findings (both seen in 5 out of the 7 patients. Among 4 of the patients who underwent CT scans, 2 had ground glass opacity and consolidations. The mean number of lobe involvement in our patients was 3 (0-5), and 75% of the cases showed bilateral lung involvement in the imaging. In 4 patients (51%) the disease course manifested severely, and 2 patients are now deceased (28.6%). In conclusion, immunocompromised pediatric subgroups may experience higher rates of disease severity and mortality in comparison with the immunocompetent pediatric population. (www.actabiomedica.it)