A Systematic Review of Characteristics Associated with COVID-19 in Children with Typical Presentation and with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

Jeffrey Kornitzer, Jacklyn Johnson, Max Yang, Keith W. Pecor, Nicholas Cohen, Carolyn Jiang and Xue Ming
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Jeffrey Kornitzer: Division of Neurology, New Jersey Pediatric Neuroscience Institute (NJPNI), Morristown, NJ 07960, USA
Jacklyn Johnson: Department of Neurology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
Max Yang: College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Keith W. Pecor: Department of Biology, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ 08628, USA
Nicholas Cohen: College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Carolyn Jiang: School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
Xue Ming: Department of Neurology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: Setting off a global pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been marked by a heterogeneous clinical presentation that runs the gamut from asymptomatic to severe and fatal. Although less lethal in children than adults, COVID-19 has nonetheless afflicted the pediatric population. This systematic review used clinical information from published literature to assess the spectrum of COVID-19 presentation in children, with special emphasis on characteristics associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). An electronic literature search for English and Chinese language articles in COVIDSeer, MEDLINE, and PubMed from 1 January 2020 through 1 March 2021 returned 579 records, of which 54 were included for full evaluation. Out of the total 4811 patients, 543 (11.29%) exhibited MIS-C. The most common symptoms across all children were fever and sore throat. Children presenting with MIS-C were less likely to exhibit sore throat and respiratory symptoms (i.e., cough, shortness of breath) compared to children without MIS-C. Inflammatory (e.g., rash, fever, and weakness) and gastrointestinal (e.g., nausea/vomiting and diarrhea) symptoms were present to a greater extent in children with both COVID-19 and MIS-C, suggesting that children testing positive for COVID-19 and exhibiting such symptoms should be evaluated for MIS-C.

Keywords: Kawasaki-like; hyperinflammation; anosmia; lymphocytopenia; SARS-CoV-2; MIS-C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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