COVID-19 Less Deadly in Children, UK Study Finds

Children and teens are less likely than adults to experience serious Covid-19 symptoms and suffer from the illness, according to the world's biggest review of Covid-19 medical patients, Science Daily reports.

Obesity, black heritage and being under one month of age are causes that raise the likelihood that a child may be admitted to intensive care for the disease, according to the study.

The results further describe novel signs of the extreme inflammatory syndrome that dramatically raise the likelihood of intensive treatment for children with Covid-19.

Researchers are advocating for the WHO concept of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) to be revised to enable physicians to find more children with the disease and enhance their care.

The team headed by researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Liverpool, Imperial College London and the Royal Hospital for Girls, Glasgow, recruited 651 children and young people aged 19 and under who had been admitted to the Covid-19 unit.

The research is led by ISARIC4C — a national network of physicians collaborating to avoid death from respiratory diseases — which included 138 hospitals throughout England, Wales and Scotland. The ISARIC4C Covid-19 research involves two-thirds of the individuals admitted to hospital with illness.

The results show that it is unusual for young people to wind up in the Covid-19 facility. They constitute fewer than one percent of the participants in the ISARIC analysis.

The median age of sick children was five years old. Any 42% of patients reported at least one other illness, the most prominent of which was medical disorders and asthma.

The number of children and young people who died from Covid-19 was relatively low -- six in total -- when compared with adult deaths.

Three children who died were newborn babies born with other severe health problems. The other three children were aged 15 to 18 years old and also had profound health issues.

About 18% of injured children and young adults have been committed to intensive care. Experts note that the adolescents most at risk of having urgent treatment were those under one month of age and those between 10 and 14 years of age. Related to youth, obesity and Black heritage have since been reported as risk factors.

The research also reported 52 patients with MIS-C inflammatory syndrome. Researchers also shown that these children are five times more likely to be referred to intensive care.

Symptoms commonly found with people with MIS-C include conjunctivitis, acne, or stomach symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, vomiting , and diarrhea.

The research finds additional signs of Covid-19 in children with MIS-C. Can involve fatigue, tiredness, stomach aches and sore throat.

The analysis also showed that the amount of platelets — a portion of the blood involved in clotting — was significantly smaller in the blood of children with MIS-C than in those without a disease.

The combination of signs and low platelets can be critical in recognizing children with MIS-C who might get more sick, experts agree.

This study was funded by the UK Science and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Health and Social Care by the National Institute for Health Study (NIHR) as part of the Covid-19 Rapid Science Response of the UK Government.

Dr Olivia Swann, lead author and Clinical Instructor in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Researchers always tend to draw focus to a vast number of cases in their studies, but we would want to point out that children make up just a fraction of a percent of all Covid-19 admissions around the UK in our analysis and that serious illness was rare."

Professor Calum Semple, Professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine and Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at the University of Liverpool, said: "The diligent work of our colleagues working in Child Health and the NIHR Clinical Research Network across the UK has led to this report which is the largest and most detailed description of COVID-19 and MIS-C in children and young people. We have provided a new understanding about MIS-C which will help manage this rare but serious condition, but parents can now be reassured that severe COVID-19 is very rare in children."

Dr Louisa Pollock, Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at the Royal Children's Hospital in Glasgow, said: "Parents should be reassured by this study, which confirms which very few children were seriously affected by Covid-19. As children return to school, it is important which we continue to monitor Covid-19 in children during the winter months."

Professor Fiona Watt, Medical Research Council Chief Executive, said: "This is a significant study involving 138 hospitals across England, Wales and Scotland showing that children and teenagers are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19 or die from the disease. Indeed, the findings suggest it is rare for young people to end up in the hospital with COVID-19.

"However, while the overall risk for young people is lower, the added risks of obesity and ethnicity are shared with adults. We need to understand this, and also why a very small number of children are suffering from an inflammatory syndrome. Obviously the goal is to ensure that everyone who develops COVID-19 has the most appropriate treatment."

The research findings are published in the BMJ.