Children and adolescents seem to be at lower risk of developing clinical symptoms of COVID-19. We analyzed the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections among 3,605 symptomatic children and adolescents at 4,402 outpatient visits presenting to a pediatric emergency department. In a total of 1,105 (32.6%) episodes, the patients fulfilled clinical case definitions for SARS-CoV-2 infection and were tested by nucleic acid testing. A SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in 10/1,100 episodes (0.3% of analyzed episodes, 0.91% of validly tested patients). Symptoms at presentation did not differ between patients with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection, apart from the frequency of measured temperature ≥37.5°C at presentation. Three percent of analyzed children reported disturbances of olfactory or gustatory senses, but none of them was infected with SARS-CoV-2. The rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections among symptomatic children and adolescents was low and SARS-CoV-2 infections could not reliably be differentiated from other infections without nucleic acid testing.
【저자키워드】 respiratory infections, SARS-CoV-2, Epidemiology, emergency department, COVID - 19, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-COV-2 infection, pediatric, children, Infection, nucleic acid, symptomatic, Patient, temperature, patients, Frequency, olfactory, Gustatory, clinical symptom, lower risk, not differ, tested, analyzed, reported, the patient, diagnosed, presenting, infected with SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 Emergency, Department, Rate, Attending,