A Case Series of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR-Positive Hospitalized Infants 60 Days of Age or Younger From 2 New York City Pediatric Emergency Departments

2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 247-251
Author(s):  
Ameer Hassoun ◽  
Nessy Dahan ◽  
Christopher Kelly

The emergence of novel coronavirus disease-2019 poses an unprecedented challenge to pediatricians. While the majority of children experience mild disease, initial case reports on young infants are conflicting. We present a case series of 8 hospitalized infants 60 days of age or younger with coronavirus disease-2019. A quarter of these patients had coinfections (viral or bacterial). None of these infants had severe disease. Continued vigilance in testing this vulnerable group of infants is warranted.

Author(s):  
Amir H Kashi ◽  
Jean de la Rosette ◽  
Erfan Amini ◽  
Hamidreza Abdi ◽  
Morteza Fallah-karkan ◽  
...  

Objectives: To review the current literature on the presence of COVID-19 virus in the urine of infected patients and to explore the clinical features that can predict the presence of COVID-19 in urine. Materials and Methods: A systematic review of published literature between 30th December 2019 and 21st June 2020 was conducted on Pubmed, Google Scholar, Ovid, Scopus, and ISI web of science. Studies investigating urinary viral shedding of COVID-19 in infected patients were included. Two reviewers selected relative studies and performed quality assessment of individual studies. Meta-analysis was performed on the pooled case reports and cohort with a sample size of >= 9. Results: Thirty-nine studies were finally included in the systematic review; 12 case reports, 26 case series, and one cohort study. Urinary samples from 533 patients were investigated. Fourteen studies reported the presence of COVID19 in the urinary samples from 24 patients. The crude overall rate of COVID-19 detection in urinary samples was 4.5%. Considering case series and cohorts with a sample size of >= 9, the estimated viral shedding frequency was 1.18 % (CI 95%: 0.14 - 2.87) in the metaanalysis. In adult patients, urinary shedding of COVID-19 was commonly detected in patients with moderate to severe disease (16 adult patients with moderate or severe disease versus two adult patients with mild disease). In children, urinary viral shedding of COVID-19 was reported in 4 children who all suffered from mild disease. Urinary viral shedding of COVID-19 was detected from day 1 to day 52 after disease onset. The pathogenicity of virus isolated from urine has been demonstrated in cell culture media in one study while another study failed to reveal replication of isolated viral RNA in cell cultures. Urinary symptoms were not attributed to urinary viral shedding. Conclusions: While COVID-19 is rarely detected in urine of infected individuals, infection transmission through urine still remains possible. In adult patients, infected urine is more likely in the presence of moderate or severe disease. Therefore, caution should be exerted when dealing with COVID-19 infected patients during medical interventions like endoscopy and urethral catheterization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambreen Gull ◽  
M.Rafaaq Saleem ◽  
Fuad Ahmad Khan Niazi

Purpose:  To determine the presence of SARS-COV 2 viruses in tears and conjunctival secretions of patients with diagnosed COVID-19. Study Design:  Prospective interventional case series. Place and Duration of Study:  Rawalpindi Institute of Urology, Department of infectious diseases, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi Medical University, from September 2020 to October 2020. Methods:  Samples of conjunctival and tear secretions were collected from 60 hospitalized patients of COVID-19 who were confirmed with nasopharyngeal swabs test. Disposable conjunctival swab sticks were used for sampling. Samples were taken within 3 days of admission. SARS-COV 2 virus evaluation in tears and conjunctival secretions was done by Qualitative RT-PCR (Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) analysis. Ocular features were documented. Regarding systemic course of illness, details were noted from their hospital records. Results:  Mean age of the patients was 56.63 ± 16.373 years. Out of 60 patients, 42 were males and 18 were females. Twenty two (36.6%) patients had mild disease and moderate and severe disease was present in 19 patients (31.6%) each. Six (10%) patients had positive conjunctival and tear secretions for SARS-COV 2 viral RNA. All patients with positive ocular secretions for viral RNA were in first week of course of disease and 3 patients had severe COVID 19 disease signifying high viral load.  Only one patient had conjunctivitis and ocular symptoms of redness and foreign body sensation. Conclusion:  There is likelihood of SARS-COV 2 virus transmission via ocular secretions as frequency of patients with SARS-COV 2 viral RNA detected in tears was 10% in current study therapeutic services. Key Words:  SARS-COV 2 Virus, COVID 19, Conjunctivitis, Qualitative RT-PCR, Ocular Manifestations


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Βenou ◽  
Shamez Ladhani ◽  
Gabriel Dimitriou ◽  
Despoina Gkentzi

Background: In December 2019, a local outbreak of pneumonia presented in Wuhan (China), and quickly identified to be caused by a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was named COVID-19 and was soon declared as pandemic because of the millions of infections and thousands of deaths worldwide. Children infected with SARS-CoV-2 usually develop asymptomatic or mild disease compared to adults. They are also more likely to have atypical and non-specific clinical manifestations than adults. Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed and Scopus to summarize the extrapulmonary manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children since the beginning of the pandemic. Peer-reviewed papers in English were retrieved using the following keywords and combinations: ‘pediatric’, ‘child’, ‘infant’, ‘neonate’, ‘novel coronavirus’, ‘SARS-CoV-2’, ‘COVID 19’ and ‘gastrointestinal’, ‘renal’, ‘cardiac’, ‘dermatologic’ or ‘ophthalmologic’. We included published case series and case reports providing clinical symptoms and signs in SARS-CoV2 pediatric patients. Results: Although fever and symptoms of upper respiratory infection are the most frequently presented, a variety of other atypical presentations has also been reported. The clinical spectrum includes dermatological, ophthalmological, neurological, cardiovascular, renal, reproductive, and gastrointestinal presentations. In addition, a rare multi-inflammatory syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported in children, often leading to shock requiring inotropic support and mechanical ventilation. Conclusions: Clinicians need to be aware of the wider range of extrapulmonary atypical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, so that appropriate testing, treatment, and public health measures can be implemented rapidly.


Author(s):  
Biyan Nathanael Harapan ◽  
Hyeon Joo Yoo

AbstractSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus, is responsible for the outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a challenging world issue. Although most COVID-19 patients primarily develop respiratory symptoms, an increasing number of neurological symptoms and manifestations associated with COVID-19 have been observed. In this narrative review, we elaborate on proposed neurotropic mechanisms and various neurological symptoms, manifestations, and complications of COVID-19 reported in the present literature. For this purpose, a review of all current published literature (studies, case reports, case series, reviews, editorials, and other articles) was conducted and neurological sequelae of COVID-19 were summarized. Essential and common neurological symptoms including gustatory and olfactory dysfunctions, myalgia, headache, altered mental status, confusion, delirium, and dizziness are presented separately in sections. Moreover, neurological manifestations and complications that are of great concern such as stroke, cerebral (sinus) venous thrombosis, seizures, meningoencephalitis, Guillain–Barré syndrome, Miller Fisher syndrome, acute myelitis, and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) are also addressed systematically. Future studies that examine the impact of neurological symptoms and manifestations on the course of the disease are needed to further clarify and assess the link between neurological complications and the clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19. To limit long-term consequences, it is crucial that healthcare professionals can early detect possible neurological symptoms and are well versed in the increasingly common neurological manifestations and complications of COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 709
Author(s):  
Adamantia Liapikou ◽  
Eleni Tzortzaki ◽  
Georgios Hillas ◽  
Miltiadis Markatos ◽  
Ilias C. Papanikolaou ◽  
...  

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a worldwide pandemic and affected more than 227 countries or territories, resulting in more than 179 million cases with over 3.890.00 deaths, as of June 25, 2021. The Hellenic Thoracic Society (HTS) during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic released a guidance document for the management of patients with COVID-19 in the community and in hospital setting. In this review, with guidance the HTS document, we are discussing the outpatient management of COVID-19 patients, including the preventive measures, the patients’ isolation and quarantine criteria of close contacts, the severity and risk stratification, including the decisions for advanced hospitalization, and the disease management at home in patients with mild disease and after hospital discharge for those with more severe disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S330-S330
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Y Ang ◽  
Nirupama Kannikeswaran ◽  
Basim Asmar

Abstract Background There is limited data regarding the presenting clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children. Our objective is to describe the clinical presentations and outcomes of COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic at our institution. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of children up to 18 years who underwent testing for SARS CoV-2 from March 1st to May 10th 2020 at our pediatric emergency department. We abstracted patient’s demographics, clinical presentation, diagnostic studies and patient disposition. We classified the severity of clinical illness based on published criteria. We excluded patients diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19. Results SARS CoV-2 testing was performed on 481 patients of whom 43 (8.9%) tested positive. Of these, 4 were diagnosed with MIS-C. Data of 39 patients were analyzed. Patients’ demographics, co-morbidities, presenting signs and symptoms and disposition are shown in Table 1. Age range was 47 days – 18 years. Infants representing one third (14/39; 35.9%) of our study cohort. There was equal sex distribution. Asthma or obesity was present in 17 (44%). The most common presenting symptoms included fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea. Chest radiograph showed pneumonia in 12 (30.8%) patients. Two thirds (27/39; 69.2%) were asymptomatic or had mild disease; six patients (15.4%) had severe or critical illness (Figure 1). Nineteen (48%) patients were admitted to the general pediatric service. Eleven (28%) were admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICU). The characteristics, presenting symptoms and interventions performed in the PICU cohort are shown in Table 2. Half of these patients required mechanical ventilation. There was one death in a 3 month old infant unrelated to SARS CoV-2. Majority of the infants required hospitalization (12/14; 85.7%), including 4 to the PICU (one each for non accidental trauma, ingestion, seizure and pneumonia). Table 1. Patient demographics, signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection in Children Table 2: PICU patients: Characteristics, Interventions and pharmacotherapy Figure 1: Severity of Ill ness in the study cohort Conclusion Majority (17; 43%) of our children with COVID-19 had a mild disease. Eleven (28%) including 4 infants required critical care; 5 required mechanical ventilation. There was no COVID-19 related mortality. Larger studies are needed to further define the spectrum of COVID- 19 and risk factors associated with severe disease in children. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 512
Author(s):  
Szilárd Váncsa ◽  
Fanni Dembrovszky ◽  
Nelli Farkas ◽  
Lajos Szakó ◽  
Brigitta Teutsch ◽  
...  

Repeated positivity and reinfection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) is a significant concern. Our study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of repeatedly positive testing after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery. We performed a systematic literature search following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. With available individual patient data reporting on repeatedly SARS-CoV-2 positive (RSP) patients, case reports, and case series were included in this analysis. We performed a descriptive analysis of baseline characteristics of repeatedly positive cases. We assessed the cases according to the length of their polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negative interval between the two episodes. Risk factors for the severity of second episodes were evaluated. Overall, we included 123 patients with repeated positivity from 56 publications, with a mean repeated positivity length of 47.8 ± 29.9 days. Younger patients were predominant in the delayed (>90 days) recurrent positive group. Furthermore, comparing patients with RSP intervals of below 60 and above 60 days, we found that a more severe disease course can be expected if the repeated positivity interval is shorter. Severe and critical disease courses might predict future repeatedly positive severe and critical COVID-19 episodes. In conclusion, our results show that the second episode of SARS-CoV-2 positivity is more severe if it happens within 60 days after the first positive PCR. On the other hand, the second episode’s severity correlates with the first.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 700-704
Author(s):  
Binita R. Shah ◽  
Karen Santucci ◽  
Richard Sinert ◽  
Phillip Steiner

Objectives. To describe the presentation and treatment of acute isoniazid (INH) neurotoxicity appearing at an inner-city municipal hospital. Design. Case series. Participants. Seven patients (eight patient visits) with an age range of 5 days to 14.9 years. Results. At our institution, no children appeared with acute INH neurotoxicity in the period 1985 through 1990, whereas seven patients were treated from 1991 through 1993. This paralleled the rise in the number of children with tuberculous infection and disease seen at our institution, from an average 96 per year to 213 per year during these two time periods. All seven patients were receiving INH daily for tuberculosis (TB) prophylaxis. Accidental ingestion (five episodes) and suicidal attempts (three episodes) accounted for these visits. The total amount ingested range from 14.3 to 99.3 mg/kg (mean, 54 mg/kg). All but one patient presented with afebrile seizures. One patient presented twice with seizures. Acute INH neurotoxicity was not suspected on the first admission; however, when readmitted 4 weeks later with another seizure, the diagnosis of acute INH neurotoxicity was made. Intervention. Intravenous pyridoxine was used in five episodes. Because it was not a stocked item in our pediatric emergency cart (as well as at another hospital, necessitating a transfer of a patient with refractory seizures to our hospital), the average delay was 5.8 hours (range, 1.3 to 13 hours) before it was given. Two patients with refractory seizures failed to respond to anticonvulsants, and their seizures were controlled only after parenteral pyridoxine. Conclusions. We have seen an increased incidence of acute INH neurotoxicity because of the resurgence of TB in New York City. Others as well may see a similar rise based on local trends in TB infection and disease. Acute INH toxicity should be suspected in children presenting with seizures with or without fever. In patients with a known access to INH, seizures should be considered to be caused by INH toxicity unless proved otherwise. Parenteral pyridoxine, the specific antidote for INH-induced refractory seizures, should be readily available in every emergency department in the areas similarly experiencing increasing trends of TB.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Fisher ◽  
Paula A. Valencia-Rey ◽  
William B. Davis

Abstract Background.  There are no prospective data regarding the management of pulmonary cryptococcosis in the immunocompetent patient. Clinical guidelines recommend oral fluconazole for patients with mild to moderate symptoms and amphotericin B plus flucytosine followed by fluconazole for severe disease. It is unclear whether patients who have histological evidence of Cryptococcus neoformans but negative cultures will even respond to drug treatment. We evaluated and managed a patient whose presentation and course raised important questions regarding the significance of negative cultures, antifungal choices, duration of therapy, and resolution of clinical, serologic, and radiographic findings. Methods.  In addition to our experience, to answer these questions we reviewed available case reports and case series regarding immunocompetent patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis for the last 55 years using the following definitions: Definite - Clinical and/or radiographic findings of pulmonary infection and respiratory tract isolation of C. neoformans without other suspected etiologies; Probable - Clinical and radiographic findings of pulmonary infection, histopathologic evidence of C. neoformans, and negative fungal cultures with or without a positive cryptococcal polysaccharide antigen. Results.  Pulmonary cryptococcosis resolves in most patients with or without specific antifungal therapy. Clinical, radiographic, and serologic resolution is slow and may take years. Conclusions.  Persistently positive antigen titers are most common in untreated patients and may remain strongly positive despite complete or partial resolution of disease. Respiratory fungal cultures are often negative and may indicate nonviable organisms.


Author(s):  
J Cho ◽  
J Lee ◽  
CH Sia ◽  
CS Koo ◽  
BYQ Tan ◽  
...  

Introduction: We aimed to describe the extrapulmonary manifestations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, including their frequency, onset with respect to respiratory symptoms, pathogenesis and association with disease severity. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE and Embase databases for SARS-CoV-2-related studies. Meta-analysis, observational studies, case series and case reports published in English or Chinese between 1 January and 1 May 2020 were included. Reports with only paediatric or obstetric cases were excluded. Results: 169 articles were included. Early manifestations (preceding respiratory symptoms until Day 6 of onset) included olfactory and gustatory disturbance (self-reported in up to 68% and 85% of cases, respectively), gastrointestinal symptoms (up to 65.9%) and rash (up to 20.4%). From Day 7 onwards, hypercytokinaemia, paralleled multi-organ complications including acute cardiac injury (pooled incidence of 17.7% in 1,412 patients, mostly with severe disease and 17.4% mortality), kidney and liver injury (up to 17% and 33%, respectively) and thrombocytopenia (up to 30%). Hypercoagulability resulted in venous thromboembolic events in up to 31% of all patients. Uncommon disease presentation and complications comprised Guillain-Barré syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, otitis media, meningoencephalitis and spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Conclusion: Although the systemic manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection are variegated, they are deeply interwoven by shared mechanisms. Two phases of extrapulmonary disease were identified: (a) an early phase with possible gastrointestinal, ocular and cutaneous involvement and (b) a late phase characterised by multiorgan dysfunction and clinical deterioration. A clear, multidisciplinary consensus to define and approach thromboinflammation and cytokine release syndrome in SARS-CoV-2 is needed.


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