Epidemiological, Clinical, Laboratory, and Imaging Features and Treatment of Children with COVID-19 in Kosovo

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Vlora Ismaili-Jaha, Rina Hoxha, Shqipe Spahiu, Gloriosa Dobra, Art Jaha

 
For citation: Ismaili-Jaha V, Hoxha R, Spahiu S, Dobra G, Jaha A. Epidemiological, Clinical and Laboratory and Imaging Features and Treatment of Children with COVID–19 in Kosovo. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2024;14(3):417-422. doi:10.21103/Article14(3)_OA4
 
Originally published September 6, 2024

Abstract: 

Background: This study aimed to identify the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory features and treatment options of children with COVID-19 in Kosovo.
Methods and Results: This retrospective study analyzed the hospitalization records of all children at the Department of Pediatrics of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 16 and December 31, 2022.
The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by PCR performed on nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs. The recorded case characteristics included age, sex, disease onset and diagnosis dates, and family and contact information. The collected clinical data comprised the duration and severity of symptoms and treatment. Laboratory parameters such as complete blood count, biochemical tests, chest X-ray, and chest computed tomography (CT) were also documented. One hundred and seventy-six pediatric COVID-19 cases were confirmed, with boys accounting for 59.65% (n = 105) and girls for 40.35% (n = 71). The median age was 62 months (1–210) for girls and 44.6 months (1-204) for boys. The most common symptoms were fever, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and dyspnea. Twenty-six patients (14.77%) had underlying diseases among the total cases. Laboratory findings included elevated ESR in 39.77% of cases, high CRP level (38.63%), high WBC count (46.02%), and high AST level (56.25%). Chest X-rays were normal in the majority of patients. Pathological CT scans were found in 77.78% of cases. Antibiotics and rehydration were commonly used for treatment. 
Conclusion: This is one of the largest pediatric data sets about confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kosovo. Children of all ages appear to be susceptible to COVID-19. Based on available data, children have lower rates of hospitalization compared to adults with COVID-19, indicating that children may experience less severe illness than adults. However, research indicates that the incidence and frequency of cases have been progressively rising.

Keywords: 
SARS-CoV-2 • COVID-19 • pediatric patients
References: 
  1. World Health Organization (2020) WHO Director-General’s statement on IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus. Available from: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-genera...
  2. Lee PI, Hu YL, Chen PY, Huang YC, Hsueh PR. Are children less susceptible to COVID-19? J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2020 Jun;53(3):371-372. doi: 10.1016/j.jmii.2020.02.011. Epub 2020 Feb 25. PMID: 32147409; PMCID: PMC7102573.
  3. Lanziotti VS, de Souza DC, Marques ETA. Coronavirus Disease 2019: Understanding Immunopathogenesis Is the "Holy Grail" to Explain Why Children Have Less Severe Acute Disease. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2020 Nov;21(11):1022-1023. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002513. PMID: 32618678; PMCID: PMC7340132.
  4. Society of Pediatrics, Chinese Medical Association; Editorial Board, Chinese Journal of Pediatrics. [Recommendations for the diagnosis, prevention and control of the 2019 novel coronavirus infection in children (first interim edition)]. Zhonghua Er Ke Za Zhi. 2020 Feb 9;58(0):E004. Chinese. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0578-1310.2020.0004. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32035429.
  5. Lu X, Zhang L, Du H, Zhang J, Li YY, Qu J, Zhang W, Wang Y, Bao S, Li Y, Wu C, Liu H, Liu D, Shao J, Peng X, Yang Y, Liu Z, Xiang Y, Zhang F, Silva RM, Pinkerton KE, Shen K, Xiao H, Xu S, Wong GWK; Chinese Pediatric Novel Coronavirus Study Team. SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 23;382(17):1663-1665. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2005073. Epub 2020 Mar 18. PMID: 32187458; PMCID: PMC7121177.
  6. Ding Y, Yan H, Guo W. Clinical Characteristics of Children With COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis. Front Pediatr. 2020 Jul 3;8:431. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00431. PMID: 32719759; PMCID: PMC7350605.
  7. Karbuz A, Akkoc G, Bedir Demirdag T, Yilmaz Ciftdogan D, Ozer A, Cakir D, Hancerli Torun S, Kepenekli E, Erat T, Dalgic N, Ilbay S, Karaaslan A, Erdeniz EH, Aygun FD, Bozdemir SE, Hatipoglu N, Emiroglu M, Sahbudak Bal Z, Ciftci E, Bayhan GI, Gayretli Aydin ZG, Ocal Demir S, Kilic O, Hacimustafaoglu M, Sener Okur D, Sen S, Yahsi A, Akturk H, Cetin B, Sutcu M, Kara M, Uygun H, Tural Kara T, Korukluoglu G, Akgun O, Üstündağ G, Demir Mis M, Sali E, Kaba O, Yakut N, Kılıc O, Kanik MK, Cetin C, Dursun A, Cicek M, Kockuzu E, Sevketoglu E, Alkan G, Guner Ozenen G, İnce E, Baydar Z, Ozkaya AK, Ovali HF, Tekeli S, Celebi S, Cubukcu B, Bal A, Khalilova F, Kose M, Hatipoglu HU, Dalkiran T, Turgut M, Basak Altas A, Selcuk Duru HN, Aksay A, Saglam S, Sari Yanartas M, Ergenc Z, Akin Y, Duzenli Kar Y, Sahin S, Tuteroz SK, Bilen NM, Ozdemir H, Senoglu MC, Pariltan Kucukalioglu B, Besli GE, Kara Y, Turan C, Selbest Demirtas B, Celikyurt A, Cosgun Y, Elevli M, Sahin A, Bahtiyar Oguz S, Somer A, Karadag B, Demirhan R, Turk Dagi H, Kurugol Z, Taskin EC, Sahiner A, Yesil E, Ekemen Keles Y, Sarikaya R, Erdem Eralp E, Ozkinay F, Konca HK, Yilmaz S, Gokdemir Y, Arga G, Ozen S, Coksuer F, Vatansever G, Tezer H, Kara A. Epidemiological, Clinical, and Laboratory Features of Children With COVID-19 in Turkey. Front Pediatr. 2021 May 7;9:631547. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.631547. PMID: 34055680; PMCID: PMC8161543.
  8. Hoang A, Chorath K, Moreira A, Evans M, Burmeister-Morton F, Burmeister F, Naqvi R, Petershack M, Moreira A. COVID-19 in 7780 pediatric patients: A systematic review. EClinicalMedicine. 2020 Jun 26;24:100433. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100433. PMID: 32766542; PMCID: PMC7318942.
  9. Xia W, Shao J, Guo Y, Peng X, Li Z, Hu D. Clinical and CT features in pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection: Different points from adults. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2020 May;55(5):1169-1174. doi: 10.1002/ppul.24718. Epub 2020 Mar 5. PMID: 32134205; PMCID: PMC7168071.
  10. CDC COVID-19 Response Team. Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children - United States, February 12-April 2, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 Apr 10;69(14):422-426. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6914e4. PMID: 32271728; PMCID: PMC7147903.
  11. Dong Y, Mo X, Hu Y, Qi X, Jiang F, Jiang Z, Tong S. Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Children in China. Pediatrics. 2020 Jun;145(6):e20200702. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-0702. Epub 2020 Mar 16. PMID: 32179660.
  12. Jiehao C, Jin X, Daojiong L, Zhi Y, Lei X, Zhenghai Q, Yuehua Z, Hua Z, Ran J, Pengcheng L, Xiangshi W, Yanling G, Aimei X, He T, Hailing C, Chuning W, Jingjing L, Jianshe W, Mei Z. A Case Series of Children With 2019 Novel Coronavirus Infection: Clinical and Epidemiological Features. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Sep 12;71(6):1547-1551. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa198. PMID: 32112072; PMCID: PMC7108143.
  13. Hasan A, Mehmood N, Fergie J. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Pediatric Patients: A Review of Epidemiology, Symptomatology, Laboratory and Imaging Results to Guide the Development of a Management Algorithm. Cureus. 2020 Mar 31;12(3):e7485. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7485. PMID: 32257728; PMCID: PMC7123290.
  14. Liu W, Zhang Q, Chen J, Xiang R, Song H, Shu S, Chen L, Liang L, Zhou J, You L, Wu P, Zhang B, Lu Y, Xia L, Huang L, Yang Y, Liu F, Semple MG, Cowling BJ, Lan K, Sun Z, Yu H, Liu Y. Detection of Covid-19 in Children in Early January 2020 in Wuhan, China. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 2;382(14):1370-1371. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2003717. Epub 2020 Mar 12. PMID: 32163697; PMCID: PMC7121643.
  15. Dinsay MGC, Cañete MTA, Lim BAT. Clinical features and outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted at a tertiary hospital in Cebu City, Philippines. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2022 May 30;16(5):787-794. doi: 10.3855/jidc.15846. PMID: 35656949.
  16. Ramosaço E, Kolovani E, Çomo N, Gjermeni N, Shpata V, Kraja D. Risk factors for poor outcome of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Albania. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2021 Sep 30;15(9):1236-1243. doi: 10.3855/jidc.14592. PMID: 34669590.

Download Article
Received June 1, 2024.
Accepted August 29, 2024.
©2024 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.