Clinical Features and Outcomes of Pediatric and Adult Patients Hospitalized for Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Comparison Across Age Strata

Authors

Grace X Li
Komal Gopchandani
Noah Brazer
Ashley Tippett
Chris Choi
Hui-Mien Hsiao
Miriam Oseguera
Abiodun Foresythe
Sanchita Bhattacharya
Venice Servellita
Alicia Sotomayor Gonzalez
Jennifer K Spinler
Mark D Gonzalez
Dalia Gulick
Colleen Kraft
Vyjayanti Kasinathan
Yun F Wayne Wang
Jennifer Dien Bard
Pei Ying Chen
Jessica Flores-Vazquez
Audrey R Odom John
Paul J Planet
Sridevi Devaraj
Ananth V Annapragada
Ruth Ann Luna
Charles Y Chiu
Christina A Rostad

Publication Date

8-1-2024

Journal

Open Forum Infectious Diseases

DOI

10.1093/ofid/ofae443

PMID

39183814

PMCID

PMC11342389

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

8-10-2024

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

adults, children, coronavirus, coronavirus disease 2019, SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause hospitalizations and severe disease in children and adults.

METHODS: This study compared the risk factors, symptoms, and outcomes of children and adults hospitalized for COVID-19 from March 2020 to May 2023 across age strata at 5 US sites participating in the Predicting Viral-Associated Inflammatory Disease Severity in Children with Laboratory Diagnostics and Artificial Intelligence consortium. Eligible patients had an upper respiratory swab that tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by nucleic acid amplification. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of clinical outcomes were determined for children versus adults, for pediatric age strata compared to adolescents (12-17 years), and for adult age strata compared to young adults (22-49 years).

RESULTS: Of 9101 patients in the Predicting Viral-Associated Inflammatory Disease Severity in Children with Laboratory Diagnostics and Artificial Intelligence cohort, 1560 were hospitalized for COVID-19 as the primary reason. Compared to adults (22-105 years, n = 675), children (0-21 years, n = 885) were less commonly vaccinated (14.3% vs 34.5%), more commonly infected with the Omicron variant (49.5% vs 26.1%) and had fewer comorbidities (

CONCLUSIONS: Clinical outcomes of COVID-19 differed across pediatric and adult age strata. Adolescents experienced the most severe disease among children, whereas adults 50-64 years experienced the most severe disease among adults.