COVID-19 Diagnostic and Management Protocol for Pediatric Patients

Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2020 Apr 17:75:e1894. doi: 10.6061/clinics/2020/e1894. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

This review aims to verify the main epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory-related, and therapeutic aspects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in critically ill pediatric patients. An extensive review of the medical literature on COVID-19 was performed, mainly focusing on the critical care of pediatric patients, considering expert opinions and recent reports related to this new disease. Experts from a large Brazilian public university analyzed all recently published material to produce a report aiming to standardize the care of critically ill children and adolescents. The report emphasizes on the clinical presentations of the disease and ventilatory support in pediatric patients with COVID-19. It establishes a flowchart to guide health practitioners on triaging critical cases. COVID-19 is essentially an unknown clinical condition for the majority of pediatric intensive care professionals. Guidelines developed by experts can help all practitioners standardize their attitudes and improve the treatment of COVID-19.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Betacoronavirus*
  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • Child
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Coronavirus Infections / metabolism
  • Coronavirus Infections / therapy*
  • Critical Illness
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / therapy*
  • Positive-Pressure Respiration / methods
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / diagnosis
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / therapy
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Time Factors