Three Faces of COVID-19 in Children and the Susceptibility of the Children of Healthcare Professionals

INTRODUCTION The coronavirus pandemic has affected many countries globally and leads to significant mortality and serious problems including economic and social problems. A novel coronavirus was identified in patients in an outbreak with severe pneumonia in late 2019 in Wuhan, China.[1,2] This is a new type of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. This novel coronavirus was called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the official name of the disease caused by the virus was announced as coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization.[3] The coronavirus is an enveloped RNA virus, and coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases.[4,5] In adults and children, coronaviruses are reported to cause respiratory, digestive, liver, and nervous system disorders.[5-7] Although, it is known that elderly people are at higher risk for severe illness and that the pediatric population has a mild to moderate clinical manifestation, the disease can also lead to fatal consequences in children and young people with weakened immune systems.[8-10] Detailed clinical data about COVID-19 in the adult population have been reported from different countries; however, COVID-19 data in the pediatric population are limited with only a few reports.[9-12] On 11 March, Turkey declared its first case of coronavirus. In this article, three consecutive children with COVID-19 who had different clinical and radiologic findings are reported aiming at drawing attention to the wide clinical spectrum The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading around the world affecting many people and leading to serious morbidity and mortality. Detailed clinical data about COVID-19 in the adult population have been reported from different countries; however, data about COVID-19 in the pediatric population are limited with only a few reports. Three children with COVID-19 were presented to discuss different clinical and radiologic findings of COVID-19 in children in this case reports. Three consecutive children (ages 6 months, 18 months, and 3 years) were diagnosed through real-time polymerase chain reaction as being positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Two of the patients were children of healthcare workers. Two of the cases could be classified as pneumonia; however, one of these had a severe clinical course with secondary bacterial infection, while the other was diagnosed as acute bronchiolitis. None of our patients required intensive care, mechanical ventilation, or had any severe complications. They were all discharged in good health and had no additional symptoms or signs during the follow-up period. Two of the children were the first two children from Turkey to be diagnosed COVID-19 positive, and unfortunately, two of the patients were children of healthcare workers.