Table 3. Outcomes According to Index Emergency Department SARS-CoV-2 Test Result Statusa.
| Elements defining the composite PCC outcome measure | Participants, No./total No. (%) | Adjusted P valueb | Absolute difference (95% CI of difference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SARS-CoV-2 positive | SARS-CoV-2 negative | |||
| 12-Month Follow-Up Survey Outcome Data | ||||
| Met PCC definitionc | 8/1192 (0.67) | 7/4371 (0.16) | .02 | 0.51% (0.06% to 1.08%) |
| Any chronic signs/symptoms or diagnoses at 30-90 d following index ED visit | 81/1089 (7.4) | 204/3915 (5.2) | .01 | 2.2% (0.5% to 3.9%) |
| Any chronic signs/symptoms or diagnoses at 9-13 mos following index ED visit | 71/727 (9.8) | 267/2517 (10.6) | .56 | −0.84% (−3.3% to 1.6%) |
| Overall health status at the time of the index ED visit as rated by caregivers on a 0- to 100-point scale at the time of 12-mo follow-up data collection, median (IQR) [No.] | 95.0 (80.0 to 100) [720] | 89.0 (60.0 to 100) [2495] | <.001 | 6.0 (3.2 to 8.8) |
| Overall health status at the time of 12-mo follow-up as rated by caregivers on a 0- to 100-point scale at the time of 12-mo follow-up data collection, median (IQR) [No.] | 95.0 (85.0 to 100) [723] |
95.0 (85.0 to 100) [2504] | .45 | 0 (−2.1 to 2.1) |
| Overall health status at 12 mo was rated as lower than before the index illness | 170/720 (23.6) | 374/2495 (15.0) | <.001 | 8.6% (5.2% to 12.0%) |
| PedsQL score (age >2 y), median (IQR) [No.]d | 98.4 (90.0 to 100) [456] | 98.8 (91.7 to 100) [1951] | .56 | −0.3 (−1.5 to 0.8) |
| PedsQL score (age >2 y) <78.6d | 51/456 (11.2) | 159/1951 (8.1) | .07 | 3.0% (−0.1% to 6.2%) |
| 6-Month Follow-Up Survey Outcome Data | ||||
| Met PCC definitionc | 6/1152 (0.52) | 4/3995 (0.10) | .02 | 0.42% (0.02% to 0.94%) |
| Any chronic signs/symptoms or diagnoses at 30-90 d following index ED visit | 67/1075 (6.2) | 97/3808 (2.5) | <.001 | 3.7% (2.1% to 5.2%) |
| Any chronic signs/symptoms or diagnoses at 3-6 mos following index ED visit | 35/506 (6.9) | 109/1104 (9.9) | .09 | −3.0% (−5.8% to −0.1%) |
| Overall health status at the time of the index ED visit as rated by caregivers on a 0- to 100-point scale at the time of 6-mo follow-up data collection, median (IQR) [No.] | 90.0 (60.0 to 100) [501] | 90.0 (60.0 to 100) [1092] | .003 | 0 (−3.0 to 3.0) |
| Overall health status at the time of 6-mo follow-up as rated by caregivers on a 0- to 100-point scale at the time of 6-mo follow-up data collection, median (IQR) [No.] | 99.0 (90.0 to 100) [502] | 95.0 (86.8 to 100) [1098] | .006 | 4.0 (2.4 to 5.6) |
| Overall health status at 6 mo was rated as lower than before the index illness | 84/501 (16.8) | 159/1092 (14.6) | .35 | 2.2% (−1.7% to 6.1%) |
| PedsQL score (age >2 y), median (IQR) [No.] | 100 (91.6 to 100) [282] | 100 (93.8 to 100) [706] | .95 | 0 (−0.9 to 0.9) |
| PedsQL score (age >2 y) <78.6 | 25/282 (8.9) | 48/706 (6.8) | .35 | 2.1% (−1.7% to 5.9%) |
Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; PedsQL, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Generic Core Scale; PCC, post–COVID-19 condition.
The presence or absence of PCC could be determined for 1192 children with SARS-CoV-2 positive tests and 4371 children with SARS-CoV-2 negative tests at 12 months (and 1152 and 3995, respectively, at 6 months). As described in the Methods section, not all subelements of the PCC diagnostic criteria are required to permit classification. Thus, although 1192 children with SARS-CoV-2 positive tests and 4371 children with SARS-CoV-2 negative tests had the presence of PCC classified at 12 months, individual element results are reported for varying numbers of participants.
P values were adjusted for multiple comparisons via Benjamini-Hochberg method.
For participants with SARS-CoV-2 negative tests, use of the PCC term refers to meeting the symptom and quality of life aspects of the definition, but excludes the requirement to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid.
The reported score was the mean of the total sores of the 4 domains.