Study: Covid symptoms in kids changed in 2nd wave

Pune: Researchers from BJ Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital observed in a recent study that Covid symptoms in children underwent changes during the second wave of the pandemic.

In a study conducted among 84 children infected with severe Covid, researchers found that the clinical symptoms of Covid-19 in kids were now wider than previously described, often with nonspecific signs and manifestations, including a wider prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms. These signs should raise suspicion of Covid while diagnosis, senior researchers stated.

Lead researcher Dr Rajesh Kulkarni, department of paediatrics, BJ Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, said, “We found a few children with unusual symptoms like seizures, loss of taste and smell during the study. Until the first wave, only a concurrent fever, cough, cold or unexplained tiredness was a tell-tale sign of Covid in children.”

He said flu-like illnesses and Covid were at times difficult to differentiate in children because of common symptoms such as fever, cold and cough. The study enlisted some major symptoms during the second wave that clinicians could watch out for while trying to diagnose Covid among children.

Dr Kulkarni said, “In the second wave, incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms, like vomiting and loose stools, was slightly more. Loss of smell and taste, common in adults, appeared to affect some kids in the second wave. Also, hardly much of Covid was known during the first wave. It was mainly considered as a respiratory illness that could worsen into pneumonia. With the second wave, it became known that Covid could manifest as a multi-system disease, including in children.” Another unusual finding of the study was that unlike western countries, where obesity was an associated risk, severe acute malnutrition with anaemia in children could also be a risk factor for severe Covid. “Nearly 12 malnourished children in the study developed severe Covid,” he said.

“Nearly 24 children in the study had comorbidities. Vaccination could prevent severe disease in children with comorbidities. High index of suspicion and early aggressive management could prevent morbidity in such children,” he said.