Evaluation Of Children With Covid-19 In The First Month Of The Outbreak In Turkey; Initial Pediatric Data From A Tertiary Hospital

Objective: SARS-CoV-2, emerged in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan in the People's Republic of China affects children as well as all age groups. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical features and outcomes of pediatric cases with COVID-19 in the first month of the epidemic in Turkey.Method: This single center cross-sectional study was conducted in University of Health Sciences Dr Behcet Uz Child Diseases and Pediatric Surgery Training and Research Hospital during the period of March 11 - April 20, 2020. Demographic, epidemiological and clinical data were collected from medical records. All patients were confirmed by real time reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction. Chidren were classified as asymptomatic, mild, moderate, severe, and critically ill patients.Results: In this study, we reported the clinical characteristics of a case series involving 30 chilren with COVID-19 aged from 23 days to 16 years. Twenty-nine (96.7%) patients had confirmed contact with family members for COVID-19. The majority of patients were asymptomatic (50%) or had mild symptoms (26.7%). Fever (46.6%) and cough (33.3%) were the most common symptoms.Conclusion: Our study indicated that COVID 19 in children exhibited less severe symptoms and had better outcomes