Previous studies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in infants have incompletely characterized factors associated with severe illness or focused on infants born to mothers ...with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here we highlight demographics, clinical characteristics and laboratory values that differ between infants with and without severe acute COVID-19.
Active surveillance was performed by the Overcoming COVID-19 network to identify children and adolescents with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-related illness hospitalized at 62 sites in 31 states from March 15 to December 27, 2020. We analyzed patients >7 days to <1 year old hospitalized with symptomatic acute COVID-19.
We report 232 infants >7 days to <1 year of age hospitalized with acute symptomatic COVID-19 from 37 US hospitals in our cohort from March 15 to December 27, 2020. Among 630 cases of severe COVID-19 in patients >7 days to <18 years old, 128 (20.3%) were infants. In infants with severe illness from the entire study period, the median age was 2 months, 66% were from racial and ethnic minority groups, 66% were previously healthy, 73% had respiratory complications, 13% received mechanical ventilation and <1% died.
Infants accounted for over a fifth of children <18 years of age hospitalized for severe acute COVID-19, commonly manifesting with respiratory symptoms and complications. Although most infants hospitalized with COVID-19 did not suffer significant complications, longer term outcomes remain unclear. Notably, 75% of infants with severe disease were <6 months of age in this cohort study period, which predated maternal COVID-19 vaccination, underscoring the importance of maternal vaccination for COVID-19 in protecting the mother and infant.
To describe the impact of infectious adverse events (IAEs) during ventricular assist device (VAD) support on graft loss, infection, and rejection after pediatric heart transplant (HT). Pedimacs data ...were linked to Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS) data for patients receiving a VAD followed by HT between September 2012 and December 2016. Linked patients were categorized into IAE on VAD (group A) and no IAE on VAD (group B). Infectious adverse event locations included nondevice, device (external or internal), and sepsis. Post-HT outcomes for analysis were graft loss, infection, and rejection. Time-dependent analysis included Kaplan-Meier and multiphase parametric hazard function analysis. We linked 207 patients (age 9.4 ± 6.3 years). Post-HT follow-up was 19.4 patient-months (<8 days-4.1 years). Group A included 42 patients (20%) with 62 IAEs. Group B included 165 patients without an IAE. Group A patients were younger (7.4 ± 6.1 vs. 9.5 ± 6.3 years; p = 0.03), waited longer for HT (5.3 ± 4.1 vs. 2.9 ± 2.5 months; p = 0.0005), and were hospitalized longer post-HT (42 ± 59 vs. 23 ± 22 days; p = 0.05). VAD-related IAEs were rare (N = 11). Groups A and B had similar freedom from first post-HT infection, rejection, and graft loss (all p > 0.1). However, patients with VAD-related IAE were somewhat more likely to experience rejection (p = 0.03) and graft loss (p = 0.01). Children with an IAE on VAD who survive to HT are younger, wait longer for HT, and remain hospitalized longer than those without an IAE on VAD. Overall, IAE on VAD did not impact post-HT outcomes, but VAD-related IAE may be associated with graft loss and rejection.
Data investigating the impact of household income and other factors on SV patient status‐post‐Fontan palliation after heart transplantation are lacking. We aim to evaluate factors affecting outcomes ...after OHT in this population. The PHIS database was interrogated for either SV or myocarditis/primary CM who were 4 years or older who underwent a single OHT. There were 1599 patients with a median age of 13.2 years (IQR: 9.3‐16.1). Total hospital costs were significantly higher in the SV group ($408 000 vs $294 000, P < 0.0001), but as median household income increased, the risk of inhospital mortality, post‐transplant LOS, and LOS‐adjusted total hospital costs all decreased. The risk of inhospital mortality increased 6.5% per 1 year of age increase at the time of transplant. Patients in the SV group had significantly more diagnoses than those in the CM group (21 vs 15, P < 0.0001) and had longer total hospital LOSs as a result of longer post‐transplant courses (25 days vs 15, P < 0.0001). Increased median household income and younger age are associated with decreased resource utilization and improved inhospital mortality in SV CHD patients who undergo OHT. In conclusion, earlier consideration of OHT in this population, coupled with improved selection criteria, may increase survival in this population.
Background Cardiac complications related to COVID‐19 in children and adolescents include ventricular dysfunction, myocarditis, coronary artery aneurysm, and bradyarrhythmias, but tachyarrhythmias are ...less understood. The goal of this study was to evaluate the frequency, characteristics, and outcomes of children and adolescents experiencing tachyarrhythmias while hospitalized for acute severe COVID‐19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Methods and Results This study involved a case series of 63 patients with tachyarrhythmias reported in a public health surveillance registry of patients aged <21 years hospitalized from March 15, 2020, to December 31, 2021, at 63 US hospitals. Patients with tachyarrhythmias were compared with patients with severe COVID‐19–related complications without tachyarrhythmias. Tachyarrhythmias were reported in 22 of 1257 patients (1.8%) with acute COVID‐19 and 41 of 2343 (1.7%) patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. They included supraventricular tachycardia in 28 (44%), accelerated junctional rhythm in 9 (14%), and ventricular tachycardia in 38 (60%); >1 type was reported in 12 (19%). Registry patients with versus without tachyarrhythmia were older (median age, 15.4 range, 10.4–17.4 versus 10.0 range, 5.4–14.8 years) and had higher illness severity on hospital admission. Intervention for treatment of tachyarrhythmia was required in 37 (59%) patients and included antiarrhythmic medication (n=31, 49%), electrical cardioversion (n=11, 17%), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (n=8, 13%), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (n=9, 14%). Patients with tachyarrhythmias had longer hospital length of stay than those who did not, and 9 (14%) versus 77 (2%) died. Conclusions Tachyarrhythmias were a rare complication of acute severe COVID‐19 and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adolescents and were associated with worse clinical outcomes, highlighting the importance of close monitoring, aggressive treatment, and postdischarge care.
The increasing incidence of pediatric hospitalizations associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) caused by the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ...(SARS-CoV-2) in the United States has offered an opportunity to assess the real-world effectiveness of the BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccine in adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age.
We used a case-control, test-negative design to assess vaccine effectiveness against Covid-19 resulting in hospitalization, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), the use of life-supporting interventions (mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), or death. Between July 1 and October 25, 2021, we screened admission logs for eligible case patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 at 31 hospitals in 23 states. We estimated vaccine effectiveness by comparing the odds of antecedent full vaccination (two doses of BNT162b2) in case patients as compared with two hospital-based control groups: patients who had Covid-19-like symptoms but negative results on testing for SARS-CoV-2 (test-negative) and patients who did not have Covid-19-like symptoms (syndrome-negative).
A total of 445 case patients and 777 controls were enrolled. Overall, 17 case patients (4%) and 282 controls (36%) had been fully vaccinated. Of the case patients, 180 (40%) were admitted to the ICU, and 127 (29%) required life support; only 2 patients in the ICU had been fully vaccinated. The overall effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine against hospitalization for Covid-19 was 94% (95% confidence interval CI, 90 to 96); the effectiveness was 95% (95% CI, 91 to 97) among test-negative controls and 94% (95% CI, 89 to 96) among syndrome-negative controls. The effectiveness was 98% against ICU admission and 98% against Covid-19 resulting in the receipt of life support. All 7 deaths occurred in patients who were unvaccinated.
Among hospitalized adolescent patients, two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine were highly effective against Covid-19-related hospitalization and ICU admission or the receipt of life support. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.).
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used successfully to support adults with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related cardiac or respiratory failure ...refractory to conventional therapies. Comprehensive reports of children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2-related ECMO support for conditions, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and acute COVID-19, are needed.
Case series of patients from the Overcoming COVID-19 public health surveillance registry.
Sixty-three hospitals in 32 U.S. states reporting to the registry between March 15, 2020, and December 31, 2021.
Patients less than 21 years admitted to the ICU meeting Centers for Disease Control criteria for MIS-C or acute COVID-19.
None.
The final cohort included 2,733 patients with MIS-C ( n = 1,530; 37 2.4% requiring ECMO) or acute COVID-19 ( n = 1,203; 71 5.9% requiring ECMO). ECMO patients in both groups were older than those without ECMO support (MIS-C median 15.4 vs 9.9 yr; acute COVID-19 median 15.3 vs 13.6 yr). The body mass index percentile was similar in the MIS-C ECMO versus no ECMO groups (89.9 vs 85.8; p = 0.22) but higher in the COVID-19 ECMO versus no ECMO groups (98.3 vs 96.5; p = 0.03). Patients on ECMO with MIS-C versus COVID-19 were supported more often with venoarterial ECMO (92% vs 41%) for primary cardiac indications (87% vs 23%), had ECMO initiated earlier (median 1 vs 5 d from hospitalization), shorter ECMO courses (median 3.9 vs 14 d), shorter hospital length of stay (median 20 vs 52 d), lower in-hospital mortality (27% vs 37%), and less major morbidity at discharge in survivors (new tracheostomy, oxygen or mechanical ventilation need or neurologic deficit; 0% vs 11%, 0% vs 20%, and 8% vs 15%, respectively). Most patients with MIS-C requiring ECMO support (87%) were admitted during the pre-Delta (variant B.1.617.2) period, while most patients with acute COVID-19 requiring ECMO support (70%) were admitted during the Delta variant period.
ECMO support for SARS-CoV-2-related critical illness was uncommon, but type, initiation, and duration of ECMO use in MIS-C and acute COVID-19 were markedly different. Like pre-pandemic pediatric ECMO cohorts, most patients survived to hospital discharge.
Abstract
Background
Risk factors for MIS-C, a rare but serious hyperinflammatory syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, remain unclear. We evaluated household, clinical, and environmental ...risk factors potentially associated with MIS-C.
Methods
This investigation included MIS-C cases hospitalized in 14 US pediatric hospitals in 2021. Outpatient controls were frequency-matched to case-patients by age group and site and had a positive SARS-CoV-2 viral test within 3 months of the admission of their matched MIS-C case (Figure 1). We conducted telephone surveys with caregivers and evaluated potential risk factors using mixed effects multivariable logistic regression, including site as a random effect. We queried regarding exposures within the month before hospitalization for MIS-C cases or the month after a positive COVID-19 test for controls. Figure.Patient enrollment timeline.
Enrollment scheme for MIS-C case-patients and SARS-CoV-2-positive outpatient controls. MIS-C case-patients were identified through hospital electronic medical records, while two outpatient controls per case were identified through registries of outpatient SARS-CoV-2 testing logs at facilities affiliated with that medical center. Caregivers of outpatient controls were interviewed at least four weeks after their positive test to ensure they did not develop MIS-C after their infection.
Results
We compared 275 MIS-C case-patients with 494 outpatient SARS-CoV-2-positive controls. Race, ethnicity and social vulnerability indices were similar. MIS-C was more likely among persons who resided in households with >1 resident per room (aOR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.1–2.2), attended a large (≥10 people) event with little to no mask-wearing (aOR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.4–3.5), used public transportation (aOR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.2–2.1), attended school >2 days per week with little to no mask wearing (aOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.0–4.4), or had a household member test positive for COVID-19 (aOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.3–3.3). MIS-C was less likely among children with comorbidities (aOR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.9) and in those who had >1 positive SARS-CoV-2 test at least 1 month apart (aOR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2–0.6). MIS-C was not associated with a medical history of recurrent infections or family history of underlying rheumatologic disease.
Conclusion
Household crowding, limited masking at large indoor events or schools and use of public transportation were associated with increased likelihood of developing MIS-C after SARS-CoV-2 infection. In contrast, decreased likelihood of MIS-C was associated with having >1 SARS-CoV-2 positive test separated by at least a month. Our data suggest that additional studies are needed to determine if viral load, and/or recurrent infections in the month prior to MIS-C contribute to MIS-C risk. Medical and family history were not associated with MIS-C in our analysis.
Disclosures
Natasha B. Halasa, MD, Quidel: Grant/Research Support|Quidel: equipment donation|Sanofi: Grant/Research Support|Sanofi: HAI testing and vaccine donation Mark Hall, MD, Abbvie: Service on a Data Safety Monitoring Board|Kiadis: Licensing income unrelated to the current submission Mary A. Staat, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Grant/Research Support|Cepheid: Grant/Research Support|National Institute of Health: Grant/Research Support|Uptodate: Royalties Pia S. Pannaraj, MD, MPH, AstraZeneca: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support|Sanofi-Pasteur: Advisor/Consultant|Seqirus: Advisor/Consultant Charlotte V. Hobbs, MD, Biofire (Biomerieux): Advisor/Consultant.
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