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TUESDAY, Sept. 1, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Severe COVID-19<\/a> is rare in kids and teens<\/a>, and death is exceptionally rare, occurring only in those with serious underlying conditions, according to a new study.<\/p>\n The study, published Aug. 27 in the BMJ<\/i>, also showed that Black children have a disproportionately high rate of severe COVID-19<\/a> illness.<\/p>\n For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 651 children and teens<\/a> with COVID-19<\/a> who were admitted to 138 hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales between mid-January and early July.<\/p>\n During a minimum follow-up of two weeks, 18% of the patients were admitted to critical care, with the highest risk among those who were Black, younger than 1 month of age or between 10 and 14 years old.<\/p>\n Six children (1%) died in the hospital, and all of these patients had significant underlying health issues. That death rate is “strikingly low” compared with 27% across all ages over the same time period, the study authors said in a journal news release.<\/p>\n Eleven percent of the young patients met World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare condition believed to be linked to COVID-19<\/a>. These children were older (average age: 10.7 years) and more likely to be non-white, the findings showed.<\/p>\n Children with MIS-C were more likely to be admitted to critical care; have symptoms such as fatigue<\/a>, headache<\/a>, muscle pain<\/a> and sore throat<\/a>; and have a low blood platelet count<\/a>, according to the study. There were, however, no deaths among patients with MIS-C.<\/p>\n The study provides a detailed picture of the clinical characteristics, risk factors and outcomes of COVID-19<\/a> in children, and should also help refine WHO criteria for MIS-C, according to lead author Malcolm Semple, a professor of outbreak medicine and child health<\/a> at the University of Liverpool, and colleagues.<\/p>\n Children and teens account for between 1% and 2% of COVID-19<\/a> cases worldwide, and the vast majority of reported infections in these young people are mild or asymptomatic.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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