Table 1 -.
Demographic, clinical and laboratory features
| A. General description | ||||
| pCOVID-19 (n=110) |
MIS-C (n=76)a |
pHC (n=76) |
p valueb | |
| Sex (F/M) | 41/69 | 35/41 | 31/29 | 0.168 |
| Age, years – median (IQR) | 5 (1–12) | 8 (3–11) | 8 (4–11) | 0.033c |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Caucasian | 95/110 (86%) | 36/76 (47%) | 58/60 (96%) | <0.001 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7/110 (6%) | 35/76 (46%) | 1/60 (2%) | <0.001 |
| Black/African American | 5/110 (5%) | 5/76 (7%) | 0 | 0.165 |
| Asian | 3/110 (3%) | 0 | 1/60 (2%) | 0.366 |
| Comorbidities | 46/110 (42%) | 18/76 (24%) | 19/60 (32%)d | 0.034 |
| Immunosuppressive therapy | 2/110 (2%) | 0 | 0 | 0.352 |
| B. Clinical and laboratory data in pCOVID-19 and MIS-C patients | ||||
| pCOVID-19 (n=110) |
MIS-C (n=76) |
p value | ||
| Presenting signs and symptoms | ||||
| Fever | 77/110 (70%) | 76/76 (100%) | <0.001 | |
| Upper respiratory (rhinorrhea, cough, sore throat/pharyngitis) | 51/110 (46%) | 12/76 (16%) | <0.001 | |
| Pneumonia | 17/110 (15%) | 15/76 (20%) | 0.425 | |
| Dyspnea | 10/110 (9%) | 27/76 (36%) | <0.001 | |
| Gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain) | 32/110 (29%) | 65/76 (86%) | <0.001 | |
| Neurological (headache, irritability, drowsiness/somnolence, seizures) | 22/110 (20%) | 30/76 (39%) | 0.115 | |
| Rash | 7/110 (6%) | 47/76 (62%) | <0.001 | |
| Cardiovascular | 0 | 53/76 (70%) | <0.001 | |
| Coronary artery involvement | 0 | 4/53 (8%) | NA | |
| Cardiomyopathy/heart failure only | 0 | 42/53 (79%) | NA | |
| Coronary artery involvement and cardiomyopathy/heart failure | 0 | 7/53 (13%) | NA | |
| Shock | 4/110 (4%) | 36/76 (47%) | <0.001 | |
| SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivee | 99/110 (90%) | 16/76 (21%) | <0.001 | |
| SARS-CoV-2 serology positive | 11/110 (10%) | 76/76 (100%) | <0.001 | |
| Laboratory anomalies | ||||
| ANC <1.0 x 109 cells/L | 14/84 (17%) | 0 | <0.001 | |
| ALC <1.5 x 109 cells/L | 11/84 (13%) | 46/71 (65%) | <0.001 | |
| PLT <150 x 109/L | 5/69 (7%) | 31/71 (44%) | <0.001 | |
| CRP >100 mg/L | 2/76 (3%) | 45/70 (64%) | <0.001 | |
| Median CRP (IQR), mg/L | 0.9 (0.3–7.4) | 152 (54–264) | <0.001 | |
| D-dimer >500 mg/L | 34/59 (58%) | 62/69 (90%) | <0.001 | |
| Ferritin >500 mg/L | 3/28 (11%) | 27/53 (51%) | <0.001 | |
| ALT >40 U/L | 11/75 (15%) | 34/69 (49%) | <0.001 | |
| C. Disease course in pCOVID-19 and MIS-C patients | ||||
| Asymptomatic | 3/110 (3%) | 0 | NA | |
| Mild | 85/110 (77%) | 0 | NA | |
| Moderate | 17/110 (15%) | 52/76 (68%) | NA | |
| Severe | 5/110 (5%) | 24/76 (32%) | NA | |
| D. Therapy in pCOVID-19 and MIS-C patients | ||||
| Gluococorticoids | 9/110 (10%) | 69/76 (91%)f | <0.001 | |
| IVIG | 0 | 46/76 (61%) | <0.001 | |
| Biologics (in addition to glucocorticoids and/or IVIG) | 0 | 12/76 (16%) | <0.001 | |
| Anakinra | 0 | 7/12 (58%) | NA | |
| Tocilizumab | 0 | 3/12 (25%) | NA | |
| Infliximab | 0 | 2/12 (17%) | NA | |
| Inotropes | 0 | 21/76 (28%) | <0.001 | |
| Respiratory support | 6/110 (5%) | 28/76 (37%) | <0.001 | |
| Non-invasive | 4/6 (67%) | 16/28 (57%) | 0.185 | |
| Mechanical ventilation | 2/6 (33%) | 12/28 (43%) | 0.185 | |
Data in the table are reported for 60 pHC for whom detailed demographic, clinical and laboratory data were available
Chi-square test except for age (Kruskal-Wallis test) and median CRP comparison (two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test)
Kruskal-Wallis test; pairwise comparison was significant only between pCOVID-19 and pHC
Control subjects had allergy as the only comorbidity
pCOVID-19 patients negative for PCR had either positive immunoglobulin M or G for SARS-CoV-2. For MIS-C, patients had positive PCR within one week of admission.
42 of these received both glucocorticoids and IVIG
ALC, absolute lymphocyte count; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ANC, absolute neutrophil count; CRP, C-reactive protein; F, female; IQR, interquartile range; IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin; M, male; MIS-C, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children; NA, not applicable; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; pCOVID-19, pediatric COVID-19; pHC, pediatric healthy controls; PLT, absolute platelet count; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.