The Impact of Alpha Variant (B.1.1.7), Viral Load, and Age on the Clinical Course of Pediatric COVID-19 Patients

IF 0.2 4区医学 Q4 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Journal of Pediatric infectious diseases Pub Date : 2022-07-15 DOI:10.1055/s-0042-1750317

Tugce Unalan-Altintop, Gökçe Celep, Fikriye Milletli-Sezgin, Pelin Onarer, Melih Gozukara, Işıl Bilgiç, Esra Onal, Muhammed Enis Can, Havva İpek Demir

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Abstract

Objective The research on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mainly consists of adult patients, leaving its impact on children understudied. This study aims to investigate the correlations between viral load, clinical course, age, and Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) in children. Methods The study was conducted on children under the age of 18 years, who were admitted to Amasya University Sabuncuoglu Serefeddin Research and Training Hospital in Turkey between February and April 2021. ΔCt values, which were obtained by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), were analyzed to estimate the viral loads of the patients. Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) positivity was determined by real-time PCR. Results There was no difference between estimated viral loads of different clinical courses (p > 0.05), or between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients (p > 0.05). Viral loads were found to decrease with increasing age (p = 0.002). Also, a higher rate of symptomatic disease was found in children under the age of 4 years (p < 0.05). Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was not found to be associated with severe disease in children (p > 0.05). Conclusion Our results demonstrate higher viral loads and symptomatic disease in children under the age of 4 years. Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was not found to be related to disease severity. There has not been a consensus on the vaccination of the pediatric population worldwide. More studies are needed to understand the viral kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 and its severity on children to build effective vaccination strategies in children as public health restrictions are eased.

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α变异(B.1.1.7)、病毒载量和年龄对小儿COVID-19患者临床病程的影响

客观的严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒2型的研究主要由成年患者组成，对其对儿童的影响研究不足。本研究旨在调查儿童病毒载量、临床病程、年龄和阿尔法变异株（B.1.1.7）之间的相关性。方法这项研究针对的是2021年2月至4月期间入住土耳其阿玛西亚大学Sabunkoglu Serefeddin研究与培训医院的18岁以下儿童。通过实时聚合酶链式反应（PCR）获得的ΔCt值进行分析，以估计患者的病毒载量。通过实时PCR确定阿尔法变体（B.1.1.7）阳性。后果不同临床病程的估计病毒载量之间没有差异（p > 0.05），或在无症状和有症状患者之间（p > 0.05）。病毒载量随着年龄的增长而降低（p = 0.002）。此外，4岁以下儿童的症状性疾病发生率较高（p 0.05）。结论我们的研究结果表明，4岁以下儿童的病毒载量和症状性疾病较高。阿尔法变种（B.1.1.7）未被发现与疾病严重程度有关。世界范围内对儿科人群的疫苗接种尚未达成共识。随着公共卫生限制的放松，需要更多的研究来了解严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒2型的病毒动力学及其对儿童的严重程度，以制定有效的儿童疫苗接种策略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Pediatric infectious diseases Medicine-Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

CiteScore

0.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases is a peer-reviewed medical journal publishing articles in the field of child infectious diseases. The journal provides an in-depth update on new subjects and current comprehensive coverage of the latest techniques used in diagnosis and treatment of childhood infectious diseases. The following articles will be considered for publication: editorials, original and review articles, rapid communications, letters to the editor and book reviews. The aim of the journal is to share and disseminate knowledge between all disciplines in the field of pediatric infectious diseases.