COVID-19 in children; A systematic review

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is a type of Coronavirus that has been discovered for the first time in Wuhan, China. The virus resulted in an outbreak and spread rapidly between individuals. Symptoms of COVID-19 among adults are similar to those of common cold and suspected cases undergo testing for confirmation. However, children may not fulfill the criteria of testing and they still have role in the transmission of infection. It is necessary to identify the symptoms of COVID-19 among infected children.
Aim: To assess the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 among children based on previous original articles conducted on the subject.
Methods: PubMed and Google scholar databases were used for searching process to obtain articles concerned with our subject. Keywords were used for the searching process, including "COVID-19, Presentation, Clinical manifestation, Symptoms, Signs, Clinical features, Paediatrics, Children." The inclusion criteria were original articles focused on COVID-19 symptoms reported among children.
Results: A total of 4601 articles were obtained, only six articles were eligible for the inclusion criteria. The total number of COVID-19 children included in the studies was 911. Only one study was from Saudi Arabia and the remaining studies were from China. COVID-19 symptoms reported among children included fever, respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms as well as other various symptoms.
Conclusion: Children are susceptible to COVID-19 infection; fever is the major symptoms of COVID-19 infection among children, followed by respiratory symptoms, especially cough. Clinical presentation of children is generally more favorable and this may lead to better prognosis.