Which child is the most ill with COVID-19? In a “medically complex” study,

It first appeared that there was a silver lining when reports of the exponential case of coronavirus in China and then in Italy first arrived in the US. The children seemed free from illness.

And while adults are far more burdened with the disease, it is increasingly becoming apparent that children are actually more susceptible to the coronavirus and, in some cases, enough to be hospitalized.

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New study published Monday JAMA PediatricsIs one of the first to provide detailed data on children affected by coronaviruses.

Research by researchers at the Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine focused on 48 children with COVID-19 admitted to pediatric intensive care units in the United States and Canada in late March and early April.

Most (83%) had underlying health problems such as congenital heart disease, cerebral palsy, or other illnesses such as cancer that endanger the immune system.

Doctors describe these children as “medically complex.” In other words, “born children [sick] Or very ill immediately after birth, “said study author Dr Lara Shekeldemian.

Many of the children already had existing illnesses that required feeding tubes or tracheostomy.

The new study did not address children who developed a mysterious disease called childhood multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which is likely related to COVID-19. The disease reflects many of the symptoms of Toxic Shock Syndrome and Kawasaki Disease, including the intense inflammation that affects the coronary arteries.

“At least from the data we have, we don’t think that any of the patients will fit a classic Kawasaki-like illness,” Shekeldemian told NBC News. The disease Delayed inflammatory response Occurs several weeks after COVID-19 infection. Shekerdemian’s study examined how the virus affects children in the acute phase of the disease.

Almost three-quarters of the children in her study group had respiratory symptoms. And almost one-quarter developed damage to at least two organ systems.

According to Shekel Demian, there seems to be no consistent treatment protocol for these most ill children infected with the coronavirus. Many received a combination of treatments, including the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, the antibiotic azithromycin (commonly known as Z-Pak), the antiviral drug lemdecibir, and tocilizumab, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It was

Study children were treated before evidence was found to link Hydroxychloroquine To potentially dangerous cardiac complications. Researchers say this emphasizes the need for clinical trials for best treatment practice.

“We’re throwing treatments in children because they exist, but we need to systematically study them,” Shekeldemian said. “The last thing nobody wants is either ineffective treatment or side effects.”

Eighteen of the 48 children who participated in the study had to be on a ventilator to help breathing. Two children died.

Nonetheless, the study repeats that children are far less likely to suffer the most tragic coronavirus complications than adults.

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Infectious disease expert Dr. Buddy Kritch, head of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Kurech was not involved in this latest study.

“We are increasingly understanding about the virus, the types of people at risk for more serious or abnormal diseases, and the best ways to treat it,” he said.

Shekeldemian said her group will continue to monitor children with coronavirus complications, including a pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome that did not exist in the medical literature a few weeks ago.

“This was obviously not all story for children,” she said. “This came when I thought you sorted it out. It’s anxious.”

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