Table 2.
Clinical features of children (≤13 years) with COVID-19 who were admitted to general public sector hospitals in the Tshwane District, Oct 31 to Dec 11, 2021
| Children (n=138) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age, years | ||
| Mean | 4·2 (4·1) | |
| Median | 2·8 (0·5–7·8) | |
| <1 | 48 (35%) | |
| 1 to 4 | 39 (28%) | |
| 5 to 9 | 34 (25%) | |
| 10 to ≤13* | 17 (12%) | |
| Sex | ||
| Female | 61 (44%) | |
| Male | 77 (56%) | |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Black | 123 (89%) | |
| Indian | 5 (4%) | |
| White | 8 (6%) | |
| Mixed race | 2 (1%) | |
| Presenting features† | ||
| Fever | 58/125 (46%) | |
| Cough | 50/125 (40%) | |
| Vomiting | 30/125 (24%) | |
| Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing | 28/125 (22%) | |
| Diarrhoea | 25/125 (20%) | |
| Seizures | 25/125 (20%) | |
| Headache | 7/125 (6%) | |
| Skin rash | 4/125 (3%) | |
| Other (eg, body aches and painful joints) | 4/125 (3%) | |
| Duration of symptoms, days‡ | ||
| Mean | 1·7 (2·5) | |
| Range | 1–14 | |
| Median | 1 (0–2) | |
| Comorbidities§ | ||
| None | 45/114 (39%) | |
| Haematological or oncological disease | 7/114 (6%) | |
| Perinatal HIV exposure | 6/114 (5%) | |
| Type 1 diabetes | 6/114 (5%) | |
| Cardiac disease | 4/114 (4%) | |
| HIV infection | 4/114 (4%) | |
| Cerebral palsy | 2/114 (2%) | |
| Asthma | 1/114 (1%) | |
| Other¶ | 39/114 (34%) | |
| Missing | 5/114 (4%) | |
| Laboratory results (on admission)‖ | ||
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | 12·5 (2·1; 8·3–20·6) | |
| Platelets, 109/L | 318·0 (122·6; 38·0–795·0) | |
| White cell count, 109/L | 10·5 (5·3; 0·1–29·0) | |
| Neutrophil count, 109/L | 5·6 (4.0; <0·1–20·4) | |
| Lymphocyte count, 109/L | 3·8 (3·1; 0·1–16·4) | |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 40·3 (82·4; 0–502·0) | |
| Length of hospital stay, days** | ||
| Mean | 3·2 (4·5) | |
| Range | 0–30 | |
| Median | 2 (1–3) | |
| Highest level of in-hospital care | ||
| Standard ward care | 122 (88%) | |
| High care†† | 4 (3%) | |
| Intensive care‡‡ | 7 (5%) | |
| Missing | 5 (4%) | |
| Highest category of oxygen supplementation§§ | ||
| None | 91/133 (68%) | |
| Received any oxygen therapy | 27/133 (20%) | |
| Nasal prong oxygen | 19/133 (14%) | |
| High-flow oxygen | 1/133 (1%) | |
| Ventilation | 7/133 (5%) | |
| Outcome (as of Dec 15, 2021) | ||
| Died | 4 (3%) | |
| Discharged | 102 (74%) | |
| Still in hospital | 32 (23%) | |
Data are n (%), n/N(%), mean (SD), mean (SD; range), or median (IQR), unless otherwise stated.
The category of children included those aged up to 13 years and 11 months.
Multiple presenting features were possible; n=125.
n=125.
n=114.
Included neonatal jaundice and sepsis, epilepsy, tuberculosis, neurosurgical conditions, burn wounds, and other paediatric surgical and orthopaedic conditions.
n=83.
n=104.
High care includes patients who might need closer monitoring and inotropic support but are not venitlated.
Intensive care services are allocated for critically ill children who require assisted, or invasive ventilation or intensive fluid monitoring and interventions for blood pressure stabilisation, or both.
n=133.