Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio intersected 131 studies published in 26 countries around the world to confirm the hypothesis that children were more resistant to Covid-19 than adults.
Covid-19. Une question intrigue particulièrement les chercheurs : les enfants sont-ils réellement plus résistants au coronavirus ? Une méta-analyse a été réalisée par une équipe de l’Université du Texas à San Antonio. Ils ont recoupé 131 études publiées dans 26 pays entre le 24 janvier et le 14 mai, portant sur 7780 patients de tous les âges. "Dans l'étude, nous signalons les symptômes les plus courants, quantifions les résultats de laboratoire et décrivons les caractéristiques d'imagerie des enfants atteints de Covid-19", explique Alvaro Moreira, auteur principal de l’étude et professeur adjoint de pédiatrie à l'université du Texas à San Antonio et néonatologiste." data-reactid="24">Observational studies are increasing on the Covid-19. One question particularly puzzles the researchers: are children really more resistant to the coronavirus? A meta-analysis was performed by a team from the University of Texas at San Antonio. They intersected 131 studies published in 26 countries between January 24 and May 14, involving 7,780 patients of all ages. “In the study, we report the most common symptoms, quantify laboratory results, and describe the imaging characteristics of children with Covid-19,” said Alvaro Moreira, lead author of the study and assistant professor of pediatrics. at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a neonatologist.
The researchers found that 19% of children infected with the virus had no symptoms, 21% had uneven lesions on chest x-rays, 5.6% of them suffered from co-infections such as the flu. The most common symptoms are the same as those observed in adults: fever, observed in 59% of children and cough, observed in 56% of them. A total of 3.3% of young patients have been admitted to intensive care units and only seven deaths have been reported. “Although we hear about severe forms of the disease in children, it happens in very rare circumstances,” confirmed Dr. Moreira.
Medical history
According to the study in The Lancet, a medical history was reported in 233 children. Among them, 152 patients had weakened immune systems or suffered from an underlying respiratory or cardiac disease. Only a small number of them have been admitted to emergency departments for multisystem inflammatory syndrome. “Children with systemic inflammation have experienced a significant decrease in the amount of lymphocytes in their blood,” said Dr. Moreira before elaborating. “COVID-positive children who did not have the extreme form of the disease had 42% of lymphocytes in the blood, compared to 11% in children with multisystem syndrome.” Kidney failure was observed in nine young patients, liver failure also in nine patients. 42 children had to be placed on respiratory assistance.
New York, en Angleterre et en Italie, où les spécialistes commencent maintenant à voir des enfants atteints du syndrome inflammatoire multisystémique." data-reactid="28">It should be noted that the majority of the newspaper articles on which the researchers relied came from China. The largest study involved 2,572 patients reported in the United States. Dr. Moreira, however, wishes to point out that the study does not take into account a new wave of patients in New York, England and Italy, where specialists are now starting to see children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
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