Children between 5 and 17 have fewer cases of prolonged COVID than adults

If there is a really frequent clinical picture after recovery from the coronavirus, it is the so-called prolonged COVID or “Long COVID” what happens when the patient comes out and continues with symptoms. That is, they become more durable even if the real infection has already been overcome.

It is a general term which encompasses symptoms that persist for more than a month and yet, despite the large body of research on the subject, they are not well understood. Scientific evidence known today shows that the number of people who manage to overcome the COVID-19[feminine et continuent de manifester des séquelles ou des symptômes à long terme pendant des semaines et même des mois.

Mais dans ce panorama complexe, il y a de bonnes nouvelles pour les plus petits. Les enfants et les adolescents âgés de 5 à 17 ans qui contractent COVID-19 ont tendance à s’améliorer après six jours et le nombre de mineurs présentant des symptômes au-delà de quatre semaines est faible.

De nouvelles études suggèrent que il est peu probable que les enfants infectés par le SRAS-CoV-2 développent des effets à long terme. Un groupe de chercheurs du King’s College de Londres a mené une étude portant sur 1734 enfants et adolescents avec entre 5 et 17 ans, pour analyser comment la COVID prolongée les affecte. Les résultats ont été publiés dans la revue Lancet Santé de l’enfant et de l’adolescent indique que moins de 2 % présentaient des symptômes durant plus de huit semaines.

« Notre objectif était de déterminer la durée et les caractéristiques de la maladie chez les enfants d’âge scolaire britanniques symptomatiques évalués pour le SRAS-CoV-2 à l’aide des données de l’étude COVID Symptom, l’une des plus grandes études épidémiologiques participatives de citoyens britanniques à ce jour», ont indiqué les experts Erika Molteni et Carole Sudre, chargées de l’enquête. Les participants se sont portés volontaires et ont utilisé une application mobile (app) lancée conjointement par Zoe Limited et le King’s College de Londres.

La recherche révèle que moins d’un enfant sur quatre (4,4 %) a présenté des symptômes pendant quatre semaines ou plus. Dans le groupe d’enfants âgés entre entre 5 et 11 ans, l’infection a eu un durée moyenne de cinq jours. Si l’on prend en charge le groupe des mineurs entre 12 et 17 ans, l’évolution de la maladie est passée de deux jours à sept.

Les 1 734 enfants (588 plus jeunes et 1 146 plus âgés) ont été étudiés entre le 1er septembre 2021 et le 24 janvier 2021). Les symptômes les plus fréquemment enregistrés étaient les maux de tête (1079 [62,2%]) Yes tired (954 [55,0%]). The median duration of illness was 6 days and was positively associated with age. The mean duration of illness was longer in older children (7 days) than in younger children (5 days, 2-9). Only 77 (4%) had a sickness duration of at least 28 days. The most common symptoms experienced by these children during the first 4 weeks of illness were fatigue (65 [84,4%]), headache (60 [77,9%]) and anosmia (60 [77,9%]). However, after day 28, the symptom burden was low compared to the first week of illness. Only 25 (8%) of the 1,379 children exhibited symptoms for at least 56 days.

Investigation officials say it is “reassuring” that no reports of serious neurological symptoms such as seizures or convulsions, problems with concentration or anxiety have been found. Main author, Emma Duncan, professor of clinical endocrinology at King’s College, explained: “We know from other studies that many children who contract the coronavirus do not have any symptoms and it will be reassuring for families to know that if children are infected, they are unlikely to experience any long-term effects”. “However, our research confirms that a small percentage have long-term illness, although they recover over time. We hope that our results will be useful for the doctors, the parents and the schools which take care of these children and, of course, the minors themselves affected ”, he concluded.

The researchers also assessed the children who reported negative diagnostic test results for COVID-19, but they could have had other illnesses like a cold O bitch. In this way, they found that people infected with SARS-CoV-2 had an average illness duration of 6 days, compared to three days in the case of children with other illnesses. A very striking fact is that after four weeks, children with the flu or colds tended to have more symptoms than children who had overcome COVID-19.

“Our data highlights that other illnesses, such as the common cold or the flu, can also present with long-term symptoms and it is important to keep this in mind when planning pediatric care services during the pandemic and in the future “, explained Dr. Michael Absoud, lead author of the study.

“This will be particularly important given that The prevalence of these diseases is likely to increase as restrictions are relaxed and public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, ”concluded Absoud.

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