Clinical and Epidemiological Peculiarities if Covid-19 Infection in Infants

Abstract

The aim of the research - to analyze the epidemiological and clinical peculiarities ofcoronavirus disease COVID-19 in infants compared to the older age group.Materials and methods. 188 inpatient cards of children who were hospitalized in theinfectious diseases departments of Chernivtsi Regional Children's Clinical Hospitalwith COVID-19 infection were analyzed, in particular, 63 children under 1 year of age(1st group) and 125 children aged 1 year and older (2nd group, comparison group).A complex of anamnestic, epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19infection was determined in hospitalized children.Results. During the analysis of the data it was found that the epidemiologicalsignificance was related to family contacts, unidentified non-family sources of infectionwere observed in a quarter of infants (25,4%) and 39,2% of children of group II (p<0,05). The most common clinical symptoms in the general cohort were fever, weaknessand lethargy, loss of appetite, and signs of catarrhal pharyngitis. Symptoms of upperrespiratory tract disease prevailed in infancy, in particular, most had nasal congestion(55,6% vs. 40,2%, p>0,05), 30,2% infants had rhinorrhea (16,8% in the 2nd group,p<0,05), while in the comparison group the symptoms from the lower respiratory tractdominated, in particular, cough was significant more often observed (59,2% vs. 26,9%in the 1st group, p<0,05). Lesions of the lower respiratory tract with the development ofpneumonia were significant more common in 32,0% of children in 2nd group and only in8,0% of infants (p<0,05).Conclusions. Epidemiologically, the start of COVID-19 pandemic in Chernivtsi regionwith restrictive quarantine measures was characterized by a predominance of familialinfection and a significant proportion of unexplained extracurricular sources of infectionin children. In most infants with coronavirus disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2coronavirus, respiratory symptoms were dominated by signs of upper respiratory tractinvolvement.