Table 2.
Comparison of clinical features between paediatric patients, by age group
| Age 0 to ≤5 years (n=10) | Age >5 to ≤16 years (n=26) | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epidemiological data | ||||
| Female patients | 4 (40%) | 9 (35%) | .. | |
| Male patients | 6 (60%) | 17 (65%) | .. | |
| History of exposure to epidemic area | 2 (20%) | 10 (38%) | .. | |
| Family members with COVID-19 | 10 (100%) | 22 (85%) | 0·60 | |
| Symptoms | ||||
| Dry cough | 1 (10%) | 6 (23%) | .. | |
| Body temperature, °C | 37·7 (0·3) | 37·9 (0·4) | 0·16 | |
| Fever (body temperature >37°C) | 3 (30%) | 10 (38%) | .. | |
| Radiography | ||||
| Pulmonary ground-glass opacities | 6 (60%) | 13 (50%) | 0·70 | |
| Laboratory tests (reference values) | ||||
| White blood cells (4–10 × 109 cells per L) | 6·5 (2·2) | 5·9 (2·0) | 0·44 | |
| Decreased (n) | 2 | 5 | .. | |
| Lymphocytes (1·1–3·2 × 109 cells per L) | 2·9 (1·1) | 2·2 (0·7) | 0·029 | |
| Decreased (n) | 2 | 9 | ||
| Procalcitonin (<0·5 ng/mL) | 0·13 (0·15) | 0·28 (0·19) | 0·032 | |
| Increased (n) | 1 | 5 | .. | |
| C-reactive protein (<8 mg/L) | 4 (1) | 5 (2) | 0·14 | |
| Increased (n) | 0 | 1 | .. | |
| D-dimer (<0·5 μg/mL) | 0·20 (0·18) | 0·32 (0·20) | 0·11 | |
| Increased (n) | 0 | 3 | .. | |
| Creatine kinase (55–170 U/L) | 124 (54) | 85 (44) | 0·032 | |
| Increased (n) | 1 | 0 | .. | |
| Creatine kinase MB (<18 U/L) | 21 (14) | 18 (7) | 0·40 | |
| Increased (n) | 5 | 6 | .. | |
| Oxygen saturation (92–100%) | 98·2 (0·3) | 98·1 (0·3) | 0·38 | |
| Decreased (n) | 0 | 0 | .. | |
| Mild cases | 4 (40%) | 13 (50%) | 0·70 | |
| Therapy and outcomes | ||||
| Oxygen inhalation | 1 (10%) | 5 (19%) | .. | |
| Interferon alfa | 10 (100%) | 26 (100%) | >0·99 | |
| Lopinavir–ritonavir | 1 (10%) | 13 (50%) | .. | |
| Time taken to become SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative, days (SD, range) | 9 (2, 7–14) | 11 (2, 8–22) | 0·011 | |
| Duration of hospitalisation, days (SD, range) | 13 (3, 10–18) | 15 (4, 13–20) | 0·16 | |
Data are n (%) or mean (SD), unless otherwise indicated. COVID-19=coronavirus disease 2019. SARS-CoV-2=severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
*p values indicate the difference between paediatric patients with mild clinical type (asymptomatic or upper respiratory infection) and those with moderate clinical type (mild pneumonia).