Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Severe COVID-19 Illness Less Frequent In Children
Clinical Breakthroughs

Severe COVID-19 Illness Less Frequent In Children

By Will DossMay 29, 2020
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Katie Wolfe, MD, ’14 ’17 GME, instructor of Pediatrics in the Division of Critical Care, was co-author of a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Children with COVID-19 experience severe illness less frequently than adults, but the disease can still inflict a significant toll, especially in children with underlying medical conditions, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

These findings cut against the idea that children are safe from COVID-19, according to Katie Wolfe, MD, ’14 ’17 GME, instructor of Pediatrics in the Division of Critical Care, who was a co-author of the study.

“This study demonstrated that while the prevalence of illness and severe disease in pediatrics is lower than in adults, pediatric patients are absolutely not protected against this disease,” Wolfe said. “We found that children, especially those with comorbidities, were still at risk for severe disease and multi-organ system dysfunction.”

As COVID-19 spread across the globe, clinicians and scientists began to recognize patterns: high mortality for the elderly and those with significant co-morbidities, and low incidence of severe disease in children.

The latter was bolstered by observational studies from Wuhan province, China, and from the United States, both of which reported that less than two percent of COVID-19 patients were children, and an even smaller percentage were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs).

Listen to an episode of the Breakthroughs Podcast about how public health interventions are needed to protect vulnerable populations.

To further explore this phenomenon, collaborators from several institutions conducted a retrospective review of pediatric patients admitted to 46 ICUs across North America — including at Ann and Robert H. Luirie Children’s Hospital — between mid-March and the beginning of April.

A total of 48 children were admitted to participating pediatric ICUs, 83 percent of whom had significant preexisting comorbidities, 38 percent required ventilation and 61 percent received targeted therapies including hydroxychloroquine.

Even with these complications, just two patients passed away and 15 remained hospitalized at the conclusion of the study, compared to studies that found the mortality rate for adults admitted to the ICU at more than 50 percent.

“I think this study confirmed what we were seeing in general and reinforced that excellent supportive clinical care remains important,” Wolfe said.

The demanding circumstances surrounding this study required a swift and careful approach to data collection and analysis, and this study is a model for rapid dissemination of COVID-19 findings, according to Wolfe.

“Everyone involved was willing and able to provide this information efficiently in order to help pediatric providers be on the same page when it comes to COVID-19 and caring for critically ill children,” Wolfe said. “I hope that we can learn from this process to continue to share information that can positively impact outcomes of children.”

Sharing new information is especially important, as since the conclusion of this study, the pediatric care community has described a post-infection inflammatory condition in children. This is a new wrinkle that may change how COVID-19 in children should be treated, and requires further study.

“We need to remain vigilant in caring for all critically ill children as we aim to better understand this virus,” Wolfe said.

COVID-19 Patient Care Pediatrics Public Health Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Sex-Specific Mechanisms for Major Depressive Disorder Identified in Response to Dysregulated Stress Hormones

Mar 23, 2023

Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy May Increase Survival in Advanced Melanoma

Mar 23, 2023

Hormone Therapy Plus Current Treatments Improves Survival in Prostate Cancer

Mar 22, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Sex-Specific Mechanisms for Major Depressive Disorder Identified in Response to Dysregulated Stress Hormones

Mar 23, 2023

Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy May Increase Survival in Advanced Melanoma

Mar 23, 2023

Hormone Therapy Plus Current Treatments Improves Survival in Prostate Cancer

Mar 22, 2023

How ChatGPT Has, and Will Continue to, Transform Scientific Research

Mar 21, 2023

New Directions for HIV Treatment

Mar 21, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230317_NM651
20230317_NM610
20230317_NM569
20230317_NM537
20230317_NM331
20230317_NM323
20230317_NM316
20230317_NM336
20230317_NM626
20230317_NM662
20230317_NM655
20230317_NM642

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.