Prevalence and associating factors of long COVID in pediatric patients during the Delta and the Omicron variants
Tananya Lokanuwatsatien, Araya Satdhabudha, Auchara Tangsathapornpong, Pornumpa Bunjoungmanee, Phakatip Sinlapamongkolkul, Chanapai Chaiyakulsil, Paskorn Sritipsukho, Pichaya Tantiyavarong
Frontiers in Pediatrics, doi:10.3389/fped.2023.1127582
Introduction: The number of pediatric COVID-19 infections is increasing; however, the data on long COVID conditions in children is still limited. Our study aimed to find the prevalence of long COVID in children during the Delta and Omicron waves, as well as associated factors. Methods: A single-center prospective cohort study was conducted. We included 802 RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 pediatric patients in the Delta and Omicron periods. Long COVID was defined as having symptoms for ≥3 months after infection. Parents and/or patients were interviewed by phone. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to find associated factors with long COVID. Results: The overall prevalence of long COVID was 30.2%. The Delta period had more prevalence than the Omicron (36.3% vs. 23.9%). Common symptoms for patients 0-3 years' old were loss of appetite, rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion. Conversely, patients 3-18 years' old had hair loss, dyspnea on exertion, rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion. However, there was no significant negative impact on daily life. Most symptoms improved after a 6-month follow-up. Factors associated with long COVID-19 conditions were infection during the Omicron period (adjusted OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.39-0.74, P < 0.001), fever (adjusted OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.01-2.20, P = 0.04) and rhinorrhea (adjusted OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.06-2.02, P = 0.02). Conclusion: Infection during the Omicron wave has a lower prevalence of long COVID. The prognosis is often favorable, and most symptoms gradually become less. However, pediatricians may schedule appointments to surveil long COVID in children with fever or rhinorrhea as an initial symptom.
Ethics statement The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by The Human Research Ethics Committee of Thammasat University No 1 (Faculty of Medicine). Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin.
Author contributions All authors made substantial contributions to the study and manuscript and met the criteria for authorship defined in the author instruction: TL designed the study, collected data, interpreted the results, drafted and revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. AS designed the study, collected data, interpreted the results, revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. AT designed the study, interpreted the results, revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. PB designed the study, interpreted the results, revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. PSi designed the study, collected data, interpreted the results, revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. CC collected data, designed the study, interpreted the results, revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. PSr designed the study, collected data, interpreted the results, revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. PT designed the study, analyzed data, interpreted the results, drafted and revised the..
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