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Review
. 2020 Jul:96:710-714.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.090. Epub 2020 May 7.

From SARS to COVID-19: What we have learned about children infected with COVID-19

Meng-Yao Zhou  1 , Xiao-Li Xie  2 , Yong-Gang Peng  3 , Meng-Jun Wu  4 , Xiao-Zhi Deng  1 , Ying Wu  5 , Li-Jing Xiong  1 , Li-Hong Shang  1
Affiliations
Review

From SARS to COVID-19: What we have learned about children infected with COVID-19

Meng-Yao Zhou et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Coronaviruses, both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, first appeared in China. They have certain biological, epidemiological and pathological similarities. To date, research has shown that their genes exhibit 79% of identical sequences and the receptor-binding domain structure is also very similar. There has been extensive research performed on SARS; however, the understanding of the pathophysiological impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still limited.

Methods: This review drew upon the lessons learnt from SARS, in terms of epidemiology, clinical characteristics and pathogenesis, to further understand the features of COVID-19.

Results: By comparing these two diseases, it found that COVID-19 has quicker and wider transmission, obvious family agglomeration, and higher morbidity and mortality. Newborns, asymptomatic children and normal chest imaging cases emerged in COVID-19 literature. Children starting with gastrointestinal symptoms may progress to severe conditions and newborns whose mothers are infected with COVID-19 could have severe complications. The laboratory test data showed that the percentage of neutrophils and the level of LDH is higher, and the number of CD4+ and CD8+T-cells is decreased in children's COVID-19 cases.

Conclusion: Based on these early observations, as pediatricians, this review put forward some thoughts on children's COVID-19 and gave some recommendations to contain the disease.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; COVID-19; Children; Coronavirus; SARS; SARS-CoV-2.

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