Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to an illness characterized by persistent symptoms which affect various organs and systems, known as long-COVID. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of long-COVID in children with immunodeficiency, in comparison to those without. A self-constructed questionnaire was created, which included questions regarding the child’s general health, the course of their COVID-19, their symptoms of long-COVID and its impact on their daily functioning, the diagnosis of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), and vaccination status. The questionnaire was completed by parents of 147 children – 70 children with a diagnosis of immunodeficiency (47.6%) and 77 who were immunocompetent (52.4%).
Immunocompetent children were more significantly affected by long-COVID than those immunocompromised. Its prevalence in the first 12-week post-infection was 60.0% and 35.7% in these groups, respectively. Beyond this period, these percentages had dropped to 34.6% and 11.43%, respectively. Children who were immunocompetent reported more often symptoms of fatigue, reduced exercise tolerance, and difficulty concentrating. Meanwhile, there was a slight increase in complaints of gastrointestinal symptoms in immunocompromised patients. The risk of developing long-COVID increased with age and COVID-19 severity in both groups. Furthermore, the daily activities of immunocompetent children were limited more frequently (41.8%) than for those who were immunocompromised (25%).
Conclusions: Although immunocompromised children experienced long-COVID, its prevalence and impact on daily functioning were significantly lower than among immunocompetent children. However, as the pathomechanisms of long-COVID are not yet fully understood, it is not currently possible to fully explain these findings.
What is known: • Long COVID is characterized by persistent symptoms following COVID-19, which can affect various tissues and organs, as well as mental health. • Due to the similar course of COVID-19 – mainly mild or asymptomatic – among children with and without immunodeficiency, the question arises, over whether the prevalence and severity of long-COVID is also similar in both groups.
What is new: • Immunocompromised children also suffer from long-COVID, but the prevalence is significantly lower than in the immunocompetent group of children. • The potential causes of less frequent and milder long-COVID in this group may be the milder course of COVID-19 and the state of reduced immunity protecting against neuroinflammation.
Source: Kuczborska K, Buda P, Książyk J. Long-COVID in immunocompromised children. Eur J Pediatr. 2022 Jul 14:1–9. doi: 10.1007/s00431-022-04561-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35834042; PMCID: PMC9281224. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9281224/ (Full text)