Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
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Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children with COVID-19 in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

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posted on 2022-03-30, 15:35 authored by David Chun-Ern Ng, Kah Kee Tan, Ling Chin, Marlindawati Mohd Ali, Ming Lee Lee, Fatin Mahirah Mahmood, Mohammad Faid Abd Rashid, Harlina Abdul Rashid, Erwin Jiayuan Khoo
Objectives: To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia in the setting of mandatory hospital isolation and quarantine for all confirmed cases.
Methods: A multi-centre, retrospective observational study was performed among children aged ≤12 years with laboratory-proven COVID-19 between 1 February and 31 December 2020.
Results: In total, 261 children (48.7% males, 51.3% females) were included in this study. The median age was 6 years [interquartile range (IQR) 3-10 years]. One hundred and fifty-one children (57.9%) were asymptomatic on presentation. Among the symptomatic cases, fever was the most common presenting symptom. Two hundred and forty-one (92.3%) cases were close contacts of infected household or extended family members. Twenty-one (8.4%) cases had abnormal radiological findings. All cases were discharged alive without requiring supplemental oxygen therapy or any specific treatment during hospitalization. The median duration of hospitalization was 7 days (IQR 6-10 days). One (2.1%) of the uninfected guardians accompanying a child in quarantine tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) upon discharge.
Conclusions: COVID-19 in children was associated with mild symptoms and a good prognosis. Familial clustering was an important epidemiologic feature in the outbreak in Negeri Sembilan. The risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from children to guardians in hospital isolation was minimal despite close proximity.

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The original article is available at https://www.ijidonline.com/

Published Citation

Ng DC, et al. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children with COVID-19 in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Int J Infect Dis. 2021;108:347-352.

Publication Date

1 June 2021

PubMed ID

34087485

Publisher

Elsevier Inc.

Version

  • Published Version (Version of Record)