Clinical Manifestations of Children with COVID-19: a Systematic Review

de Souza, T. H.; Nadal, J. A.; Nogueira, R. J. N.; Pereira, R. M.; Brandao, M. B.

Context: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is an unprecedented global public health challenge, leading to thousands of deaths every day worldwide. Despite the epidemiological importance, clinical patterns of children with COVID-19 remain unclear. Objective: To describe the clinical, laboratorial and radiological characteristics of children with COVID-19. Data Sources: The Medline database was searched between December 1st 2019 and March 30th 2020. Study Selection: Inclusion criteria were: (1) studied patients younger than 18 years old; (2) presented original data from cases of COVID-19 confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction; and (3) contained descriptions of clinical manifestations, laboratory tests or radiological examinations. Data Extraction: Number of cases, gender, age, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, radiological examinations and outcomes. Results: A total of 34 studies (1,118 cases) were included. From all the cases, 1,111 had their severity classified: 14.3% were asymptomatic, 36.4% were mild, 46.0% were moderate, 2.2% were severe and 1.2% were critical. The most prevalent symptom was fever (16.3%), followed by cough (14.4%), nasal symptoms (3.6%), diarrhea (2.7%) and nausea/vomiting (2.5%). One hundred forty-five (12.9%) children were diagnosed with pneumonia and 43 (3.8%) upper airway infections were reported. Reduced lymphocyte count were reported in 13.1% of cases. Abnormalities on computed tomography was reported in 62.7% of cases. The most prevalent abnormalities reported were ground glass opacities, patchy shadows and consolidations. Only one death was reported. Conclusions: Clinical manifestations of children with COVID-19 differ widely from adults cases. Fever and respiratory symptoms should not be considered a hallmark of COVID-19 in children.