Journal article
Demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 in Arkansas: March–December 2020
Medicine (Baltimore), Vol.101(42), pp.e31058-e31058
10/21/2022
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000031058
PMCID: PMC9592139
PMID: 36281145
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States in early 2020 and spread rapidly across the country. This retrospective study describes the demographic and clinical characteristics of 308 children presenting to an Arkansas Children’s emergency department (ED) or admitted to an Arkansas Children’s hospital with COVID-19 in the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to the emergence of clinically significant variants and available vaccinations. Adolescents aged 13 and older represented the largest proportion of this population. The most common presenting symptoms were fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, and upper respiratory symptoms. Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) had a longer length of stay (LOS) than patients with acute COVID-19. Children from urban zip codes had lower odds of admission but were more likely to be readmitted after discharge. Nearly twenty percent of the study population incidentally tested positive for COVID-19. Despite lower mortality in children with COVID than in adults, morbidity and resource utilization are significant. With many Arkansas children living in rural areas and therefore far from pediatric hospitals, community hospitals should be prepared to evaluate children presenting with COVID-19 and to determine which children warrant transport to pediatric-specific facilities.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 in Arkansas: March–December 2020
- Creators
- Sara C. Sanders - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesMaxwell D. Taylor - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesJacob Filipek - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesDustin Williford - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesCindy Nguyen - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesCharalene R. Fisher - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesStephanie M. Scheffler - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesEmily S. Smith - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesPhoebe Martin - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesRebecca L. Latch - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesJessica Snowden - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesChang L. Wu - University of Alabama at BirminghamRebecca M. Cantu - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Medicine (Baltimore), Vol.101(42), pp.e31058-e31058
- DOI
- 10.1097/MD.0000000000031058
- PMID
- 36281145
- PMCID
- PMC9592139
- NLM abbreviation
- Medicine (Baltimore)
- ISSN
- 0025-7974
- eISSN
- 1536-5964
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/21/2022
- Academic Unit
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Hospital Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984354120302771
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