Clinical characteristics and predictors of delayed discharge among children with SARS‑CoV‑2 Omicron variant infection

Zheng,Yijuan; Zhang,Huatang; Weng,Zhangyan; He,Haoyi; Chen,Wenhuang; Zheng,Minghui; Chen,Chengdi; Zheng,Youxian; Xie,Jianfeng; Zheng,Kuicheng; Zhang,Jiming; Xie,Baosong; Su,Zhijun; Zhuang,Xibin; Zhou,Yongjun; Yu,Xueping

doi:10.3892/br.2023.1717

Clinical characteristics and predictors of delayed discharge among children with SARS‑CoV‑2 Omicron variant infection

Authors:
- Yijuan Zheng
- Huatang Zhang
- Zhangyan Weng
- Haoyi He
- Wenhuang Chen
- Minghui Zheng
- Chengdi Chen
- Youxian Zheng
- Jianfeng Xie
- Kuicheng Zheng
- Jiming Zhang
- Baosong Xie
- Zhijun Su
- Xibin Zhuang
- Yongjun Zhou
- Xueping Yu
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Affiliations: Department of Infectious Disease, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, P.R. China, Department of Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Quanzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, P.R. China, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fuzhou, Fujian 350001, P.R. China, Department of Infectious Disease, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, P.R. China, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Fujian Shengli Medical College, Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian 350000, P.R. China, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, P.R. China, Institute of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Minnan Science and Technology University, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, P.R. China
Published online on: December 27, 2023 https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2023.1717
Article Number: 29
Copyright: © Zheng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The present study investigated the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) Omicron variant and determined the risk factors for delayed discharge or release from isolation for pediatric patients in Quanzhou, China in 2022. There were 145, 254 and 23 patients in the asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic and moderately symptomatic categories, respectively. The proportion of pediatric patients in the moderately symptomatic category increased with increasing age. No child aged <1 year and 9.02% of patients aged 13‑18 years were in the moderately symptomatic category. The proportion of patients with asymptomatic infection did not differ significantly by vaccination status. The median days until the first negative conversion of viral RNA was 11 days, and the median hospitalization duration was 16 days. Most symptoms appeared in the upper respiratory tract. Notably, ~33.23% of patients showed elevated aspartate aminotransferase levels. C‑reactive protein and interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) levels, and lymphocyte counts were consistently lower in asymptomatic patients than those in in symptomatic patients. Adjusted logistic regression analyses indicated that IL‑6 levels and time to the first negative conversion of viral RNA were independent risk factors for delayed discharge. The area under the curve of the regression model for predicting delayed discharge was 0.760. In conclusion, these results could facilitate the formulation of global epidemic prevention policies for pediatric patients.

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