Abstract
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is an important cause of morbidity and
mortality, which has had a negative impact worldwide. We aimed to
contribute to the medical literature by sharing the knowledge and
experience of pediatric patients who were diagnosed as having COVID-19
in a one-year period. Method: Patients aged 1 month to 18 years who were
diagnosed as having COVID-19 in our clinic, between March 2020 and April
2020, from when COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic, were included in
the study. Results: Four hundred sixty-seven children were included in
the study. There were 34 (7.3%) patients under one year of age, 111
(23.8%) between 1-5 years, 98 (30.4%) between 5-10 years, 142 (30.4%)
between 11-15 years, and 82 (17.6%) age over 15 years. Fever (88.2%),
vomiting (32.4%), and diarrhea (29.4%) in patients aged under 1 year,
sore throat (36.6%) in patients aged 11-15 years, and dysgeusia (11%),
anosmia (14.6%), headache (18.3%), malaise (40.8%), myalgia (28%),
and dyspnea (17.1%) in those aged over 15 years of age were found
significantly more common compared with the other age groups.
Thirty-five (7.5%) patients were asymptomatic, 365 (78.1%) had mild
disease, 35 (7.5%) were moderate, 27 (5.8%) were severe, and five
(1.07%) were critical. Leukocyte count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
ferritin, and C-reactive protein values were significantly higher in
hospitalized patients. Four patients died during the study period
(0.8%, 4/494). Conclusion: Although COVID-19 has an asymptomatic and
mild course in children, it should be kept in mind that it may have a
severe course.