Pediatric Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Clinical Characteristics and Cycle Threshold Value (CT value) of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) of Nasopharyngeal Samples

Authors

  • Arvind Kumar Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Army Institute of Cardio-Thoracic Science, Pune-411040, Maharashtra, India
  • Harmeet Singh Arora Department of Paediatrics, Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi-110010, India
  • Vikas Marwah Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Army Institute of Cardio-Thoracic Science, Pune-411040, Maharashtra, India
  • Satish Chandra Mishra Department of Cardiology, Army Institute of Cardio-Thoracic Science, Pune-411040, Maharashtra, India
  • Akhil K Ravi Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Army Institute of Cardio-Thoracic Science, Pune-411040, Maharashtra, India
  • Dinesh Kumar Kalra Department of Pathology, Command Hospital, Pune-411040, Maharashtra, India
  • Subhash Chandra Shaw Department of Paediatrics, Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi-110010, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v42i2.41521

Keywords:

COVID-19, Children, Cycle Threshold Value, RT-PCR test, Vaccination

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to characterize epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and to evaluate relationship of cycle threshold value (CT value) of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test (As surrogate marker of viral load) with patient age and severity of infection.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data of children and adolescents admitted in our center from April 2020 to July 2020 with positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2.

Results: Total 62 children, with median (IQR) of age 96 (54 - 122) months and 39 adolescents with median (IQR) of age 19.5 (18.2 - 20) years were included. 56 (90%) children and 34 (87%) adolescents had history of SARSCoV-2 positive cases in their family. Only nine (14%) children had associated risk factor for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fever was the commonest symptom which was present in 24 (39%) children and 16 (41%) adolescents. Cough was present in 17 (27%) children and 10 (26%) adolescents. Diarrhea was found in 14 (23%) children and three (8%) adolescents. CT values of RT-PCR test were similar in children and adolescence (p = 0.48). However, asymptomatic children had higher CT values than symptomatic children (p = 0.01).

Conclusions: Majority of children have asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection with similar CT values in children and adolescents.

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Published

2022-12-31

How to Cite

Kumar, A., Arora, H. S., Marwah, V., Mishra, S. C., Ravi, A. K. ., Kalra, D. K., & Shaw, S. C. (2022). Pediatric Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Clinical Characteristics and Cycle Threshold Value (CT value) of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) of Nasopharyngeal Samples. Journal of Nepal Paediatric Society, 42(2), 66–70. https://doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v42i2.41521

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 2 (2022)

Section

Original Articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Arvind Kumar, Harmeet Singh Arora, Vikas Marwah, Satish Chandra Mishra, Akhil K Ravi, Dinesh Kumar Kalra, Subhash Chandra Shaw

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