Clinical Profile of Children Hospitalized with COVID-19 in One of Indonesia’s District Hospitals: A First-Year Pandemic Wave Single Center Study

Abstract

Introduction: Children are known to be less infected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rather than adults. However, they are still a vulnerable group and the incidence of patients’ admission to the hospital continues to increase. As Indonesia’s district hospitals have limited resources during the pandemic wave, the data on occurring cases were still underreported specifically those involving children. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of children with COVID-19 who were treated at the main referral district hospital in Jember Regency. Methods: This retrospective observational study collected data on pediatric cases aged 0 – 18 years, who were hospitalized at Dr. Soebandi Hospital, Jember, and confirmed to have COVID-19, from March 2020 to the end of March 2021. Results: A total of 40 children were hospitalized and confirmed COVID-19 positive during the study period, the majority were 15 – 18 years old (40%), male (65%), and had a history of contact (67.5%). The commonest symptoms were cough (85%), fever (67.5%), and shortness of breath (40%). The laboratory results showed that the majority had decreased neutrophils, increased lymphocytes, and normal chest X-rays (52.5%). Four died out of the five pediatric patients who experienced multimorbidity, and the recorded mortality rate reached 10%. All these four had common underweight clinical morbidity, while acute respiratory distress syndrome dominated the cause of their death. Conclusion: The majority of pediatric patients were found to have mild to moderate symptoms with good outcomes. The case mortality rate in this study was lower than the national data. Meanwhile, the underweight comorbidity in children with COVID-19 worsened the outcomes.