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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Among children with COVID-19 or seasonal influenza, there are no differences in hospitalization rates, intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates, or mechanical ventilator use, but children with COVID-19 have more clinical symptoms, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in JAMA Network Open<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Xiaoyan Song, Ph.D., from the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and colleagues describe the similarities and differences in clinical features between COVID-19 and seasonal influenza in a retrospective cohort study. Data were included from 315 children diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 25 and May 15, 2020, and 1,402 children diagnosed with seasonal influenza between Oct. 1, 2019, and June 6, 2020.<\/p>\n
The researchers observed similar rates of hospitalization (17 versus 21 percent), ICU admission (6 versus 7 percent), and mechanical ventilator use (3 versus 2 percent) for children with COVID-19 and those with seasonal influenza. Compared with those with influenza, significantly more children hospitalized with COVID-19 reported fever, diarrhea or vomiting, headache, body ache or myalgia, and chest pain. There was no statistically significant difference between patients hospitalized with COVID-19 versus influenza who reported cough and shortness of breath.<\/p>\n
“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and the 2020 to 2021 influenza season approaches, findings from our study may inform the prompt identification and treatment of children with a respiratory viral infection in health care facilities,” the authors write.<\/p>\n