Persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst children and young people: A meta-analysis of controlled and uncontrolled studies

SARS-CoV-2 infections in children: Understanding diverse outcomes

“…This poorly understood condition merits further investigation in both children and adults, yet too little is known to date to speculate around long COVID in relation to the energy allocation hypothesis I have described. Also, a careful literature review has found that long COVID in children is likely to be less frequent and less severe as compared with what is reported in adults (Behnood et al, 2021;Nalbandian et al, 2021). The suggestion herein that the propensity for disease tolerance and/or resistance is linked to energy allocation tradeoff between growth and immune defense is not only applicable to growing children, but also to individuals with altered metabolic states.…”

Assessing the impact of the pandemic in children and adolescents: SARS-CoV-2 infection and beyond

“…Indeed, the pooled prevalence of fatigue (using 17 studies, both with and without control data) was 47%. 8 What conclusions can we reach? First, both CLoCK 1 and LongCOVIDKidsDK 5 found a high symptom burden in the control groups, including mental health issues.…”

“…As highlighted recently, 7 coalescing data for ongoing symptoms after COVID-19 is difficult, with heterogeneity of inclusion criteria, disease definition, assessment methodology, and duration of follow-up. A meta-analysis 8 of five controlled studies found that, in individuals aged 19 years and younger with confirmed or probable SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptoms beyond 4 weeks, few symptoms were more common in cases than controls, with small absolute differences in cognitive difficulties (3%), headache (5%), anosmia (8%), sore throat (2%), and sore eyes (2%), but not in fatigue. These data should not be interpreted as showing that children with SARS-CoV-2 infection do not have these or other long-lasting symptoms; rather, that these symptoms are not confined to SARS-CoV-2 infection.…”

“…Indeed, the pooled prevalence of fatigue (using 17 studies, both with and without control data) was 47%. 8 …”

Politics, Patience, and Pediatrics in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…A new pediatric syndrome associated with COVID-19, multisystem inflammatory syndrome of children, emerged early in the pandemic and required dissemination of new data on identification and treatment options. [5][6][7] Despite the initial confusion and apprehension felt by many going into the hospital or clinic to see patients possibly infected with COVID-19, the hope that we could help children "feel better" in any way possible guided us. Our ability to adapt to a work environment, and quite honestly, a world where there continue to be many unknowns, has become paramount in continuing to offer help to children and adolescents in this pandemic.…”