Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic
Background. The use of antiviral agents can shorten the duration of the viral infection. The aim: to study the clinical and epidemiological features and the effectiveness of antiviral therapy for new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in outpatient children.Materials and methods. From April 2020 to Ma...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | Russian |
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Scientific Сentre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems
2021-12-01
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Series: | Acta Biomedica Scientifica |
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Online Access: | https://www.actabiomedica.ru/jour/article/view/3134 |
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author | T. M. Chernova E. B. Pavlova V. N. Timchenko E. O. Ermakova S. Yu. Uskova A. A. Astakhova I. A. Egorova A. A. Zherebtsova |
author_facet | T. M. Chernova E. B. Pavlova V. N. Timchenko E. O. Ermakova S. Yu. Uskova A. A. Astakhova I. A. Egorova A. A. Zherebtsova |
author_sort | T. M. Chernova |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Background. The use of antiviral agents can shorten the duration of the viral infection. The aim: to study the clinical and epidemiological features and the effectiveness of antiviral therapy for new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in outpatient children.Materials and methods. From April 2020 to March 2021, 9334 outpatient children aged from 0 months to 17 years were randomly tested for new coronavirus infection. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in oropharyngeal and nasal material by PCR. Patients with confirmed new coronavirus infection were prescribed interferon-alpha (IFN-α) intranasally, antiviral agents of systemic action. The control group consisted of children with COVID-19 who did not receive treatment.Results. When examining clinically healthy contact children, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 7.4 % of cases. In the structure of ARI, the specific weight of COVID-19 was 12.3 % with the peak incidence in April-May (up to 22.8 %) and NovemberDecember (up to 30.0 %). In half of the cases, children became infected in the family, and usually adults were the index patient. In 47.7 % of cases, an asymptomatic form of COVID-19 was registered without significant differences in patients of different ages. In one third of children with concomitant pathology, the disease was asymptomatic, in half it was mild, in other cases moderate severity was diagnosed. The clinical picture of COVID-19 did not differ from other ARIs. Anosmia (9.4 %) in half of the cases was combined with ageusia (4.4 %) and was significantly more common in boys. The duration of clinical manifestations in children of the control group and those who received antiviral therapy did not statistically significantly differ in mild and severity of the disease. Also, various antiviral therapy options did not significantly affect the duration of SARS-CoV-2 detection in children with various forms of COVID-19.Conclusion. In the first year of the pandemic, the novel coronavirus infection did not dominate the pattern of respiratory diseases in outpatient children. Further research is required to develop pediatric guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19 at the outpatient stage. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:15:47Z |
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id | doaj.art-3f29a8d839d843699b0f31d60ece11b2 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2541-9420 2587-9596 |
language | Russian |
last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:15:53Z |
publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
publisher | Scientific Сentre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems |
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series | Acta Biomedica Scientifica |
spelling | doaj.art-3f29a8d839d843699b0f31d60ece11b22024-03-28T07:49:25ZrusScientific Сentre for Family Health and Human Reproduction ProblemsActa Biomedica Scientifica2541-94202587-95962021-12-0166-2182810.29413/ABS.2021-6.6-2.32264Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemicT. M. Chernova0E. B. Pavlova1V. N. Timchenko2E. O. Ermakova3S. Yu. Uskova4A. A. Astakhova5I. A. Egorova6A. A. Zherebtsova7Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University Saint Petersburg City Polyclinic No. 24 Saint Petersburg City Polyclinic No. 27 Background. The use of antiviral agents can shorten the duration of the viral infection. The aim: to study the clinical and epidemiological features and the effectiveness of antiviral therapy for new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in outpatient children.Materials and methods. From April 2020 to March 2021, 9334 outpatient children aged from 0 months to 17 years were randomly tested for new coronavirus infection. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in oropharyngeal and nasal material by PCR. Patients with confirmed new coronavirus infection were prescribed interferon-alpha (IFN-α) intranasally, antiviral agents of systemic action. The control group consisted of children with COVID-19 who did not receive treatment.Results. When examining clinically healthy contact children, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 7.4 % of cases. In the structure of ARI, the specific weight of COVID-19 was 12.3 % with the peak incidence in April-May (up to 22.8 %) and NovemberDecember (up to 30.0 %). In half of the cases, children became infected in the family, and usually adults were the index patient. In 47.7 % of cases, an asymptomatic form of COVID-19 was registered without significant differences in patients of different ages. In one third of children with concomitant pathology, the disease was asymptomatic, in half it was mild, in other cases moderate severity was diagnosed. The clinical picture of COVID-19 did not differ from other ARIs. Anosmia (9.4 %) in half of the cases was combined with ageusia (4.4 %) and was significantly more common in boys. The duration of clinical manifestations in children of the control group and those who received antiviral therapy did not statistically significantly differ in mild and severity of the disease. Also, various antiviral therapy options did not significantly affect the duration of SARS-CoV-2 detection in children with various forms of COVID-19.Conclusion. In the first year of the pandemic, the novel coronavirus infection did not dominate the pattern of respiratory diseases in outpatient children. Further research is required to develop pediatric guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19 at the outpatient stage.https://www.actabiomedica.ru/jour/article/view/3134childrencovid-19epidemiologysymptomsantiviral therapy |
spellingShingle | T. M. Chernova E. B. Pavlova V. N. Timchenko E. O. Ermakova S. Yu. Uskova A. A. Astakhova I. A. Egorova A. A. Zherebtsova Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic Acta Biomedica Scientifica children covid-19 epidemiology symptoms antiviral therapy |
title | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic |
title_full | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic |
title_fullStr | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic |
title_short | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for COVID-19 in children: The experience of the first year of the pandemic |
title_sort | clinical and epidemiological characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral therapy for covid 19 in children the experience of the first year of the pandemic |
topic | children covid-19 epidemiology symptoms antiviral therapy |
url | https://www.actabiomedica.ru/jour/article/view/3134 |
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