Screening of COVID-19 in outpatient children with cancer or solid organ transplantation: preliminary report

Cleto-Yamane, Thaís Lira; Rodrigues-Santos, Gustavo; de Magalhães-Barbosa, Maria Clara; Moura, Patrícia Gomes; Vasconcelos, Rafael Dias; Gouveia, Jaqueline Leal Santos; de Oliveira, Anne Louise; Ferreira, Fernanda Couto; Shalders, Ana Letícia; de Oliveira, Mariana Barros Genuíno; Lima-Setta, Fernanda; da Cunha, Antonio José Ledo Alves; Prata-Barbosa, Arnaldo

Clinical presentation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pediatric immunosuppressed patients is unknown. Emerging data describe a milder or asymptomatic course in children compared with adults in this scenario. We present the seroprevalence and clinical features of coronavirus disease 2019 in a prospective cohort of 114 immunosuppressed children and adolescents from three groups: kidney transplantation, liver transplantation, and cancer patients. Among the thirty-five (30.7%) patients who had a positive serological test for SARS-CoV-2, 77% did not report previous symptoms and none of them developed any complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after 30 or more days of follow-up. Among those who were symptomatic, diarrhea, fever, and cough were the most common findings. Conclusion: Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection is high among immunosuppressed children and adolescents. COVID-19 has a mild or asymptomatic course in most of these patients.