10 Apr COVID-19 in Spain: Screening and Severity in Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Tagarro
Dr Alfredo Tagarro MD PhD
Pediatrician – Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía
Clinical Research – Fundación Investigación Hospital
Assistant Professor – Universidad Europea de Madrid
Madrid
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Madrid is being hit hard by the disease. Almost all doctors, including pediatricians, are dedicated to attending COVID-19 patients, essencially adults. However, there are some moderate and severe cases among children.
In Madrid, clinical pediatricians from 30 hospitals joined their efforts to report and analyze pediatric patients with COVID-19.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: The primary message is that the amount of children with severe disease is much smaller than adults, but a few children need hospitalization and intensive care.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: We tested only children with a high likelihood of hospitalization or children with previous diseases. In other sites, like China or Korea, researchers tested also pauci-symptomatic children or asymptomatic contacts, or even just asymptomatic children living in an epidemic area. The high proportion of hospitalized children in our paper depends on the denominator. Necessarily, if we tested only patients likely to be admitted, the proportion of admitted patients is high.
These numbers are very preliminary and should be taken with caution. Still, there are some figures that deserve attention and follow-up.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: Our group, like many others, is developing a project focused on the spectrum and the natural history of the disease in children, the outcome, and some substudies. Of special interest would be to know what is makes the disease so different in children compared to adults. The key may be in the immune system, and this has to be studied in depth.
No disclosures
Citation:
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST
[mailpoet_form id="5"]We respect your privacy and will never share your details.
[last-modified]
The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.
Last Updated on May 12, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD