COVID-19 Pandemic – A Paediatric Perspective
Abstract
SARS CoV-2, the virus responsible for the current pandemic COVID-19 has resulted in 4.2 million cases and 2.9 lakhs deaths globally by mid- May 2020. Children are less likely to be symptomatic or develop severe symptoms with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent US reports show that rate of hospitalization is less in children (5.7%) when compared to adults (10%). Most common presenting complaints include fever, cough and sore throat; eight cases of Kawasaki disease/toxic shock syndrome like presentation with multi organ dysfunction has also been published from UK. For management, clinical categorization as A, B and C is helpful. Patients with comorbidities, on immunosuppressants, severe respiratory symptoms, altered sensorium and shock need hospitalization, close monitoring and care. Mainstay of diagnosis is with RT-PCR of nasopharyngeal swab. Treatment includes supportive care for category A, Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin for category B and C. In addition, if there is clinical worsening, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Remdesivir (not available in India) and Tocilizumab may be considered. Appropriate protective gears and reduction of aerosol generating procedures are effective infection control strategies.
When publishing with Kerala Medicial Journal (KMJ), authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Work includes the material submitted for publication and any other related material submitted to KMJ. In the event that KMJ does not publish said work, the author(s) will be so notified and all rights assigned hereunder will revert to the author(s).
The assignment of rights to KMJ includes but is not expressly limited to rights to edit, publish, reproduce, distribute copies, include in indexes or search databases in print, electronic, or other media, whether or not in use at the time of execution of this agreement.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
The author(s) hereby represents and warrants that they are sole author(s) of the work, that all authors have participated in and agree with the content and conclusions of the work, that the work is original, and does not infringe upon any copyright, propriety, or personal right of any third party, and that no part of it nor any work based on substantially similar data has been submitted to another publication.
