Saleh Al Harbi*1,2, Sumayyah Ahmed Nezar Kobeisy*1, Hossam Mohamed Mostafa Elsayed1, Raja Saleh Mehdawi1, Walaa Khaled Ahmed Abdulrahman1, Alaa Ahmed Akef1, Hisham Abdulmalik Essa1, Aya Mohamed Elsayed Shahata1, Bashaer Saleh Baharoon1, Dina Salem Bashammakh1, Shada Mohammed Fayyad1, Omer Mohammed Akbar Hossain1
Background: The global pandemic due to the novel corona virus which first originated in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019 has resulted in over 108 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 disease and over 2 million deaths more than a year later, as reported by the World Health Organization. Local data in the Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular regarding COVID-19 disease in children is limited and regarding MIS-C is particularly minute..
Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the clinical, laboratory and radiological features of pediatric COVID-19 patients and to assess if any pediatric patients developed MIS-C in one center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted at Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from May14, 2020 to September 9, 2020. Patient files were reviewed on the hospital information system, YASASII, to extract demographic data, initial vital signs, presenting signs and symptoms, laboratory markers, radiological features and patient management. Data was collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.
Results: A total of 223 patients were found to have COVID-19 positive nasopharyngeal swabs. There were 11 patients who met the criteria of multi- system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), approximately 4.9% of the total COVID-19 positive pediatric patients.
Conclusion: Data regarding pediatric COVID-19 disease is limited in Saudi Arabia and even more so regarding MIS-C. Further large scale studies are needed to determine whether there are regional differences in presentation of MIS-C or if underlying comorbidities play a role in determining the patient outcome.
