CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHANGES SEEN IN INDIAN CHILDRENS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV2 is the cause of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus illness, which has impacted a sizable 
population worldwide, including India. Children as well as subjects of all ages have been impacted by it. Nevertheless, 
despite extensive study on COVID-19, little is known about the disease's epidemiological, clinical, and transmission 
patterns in Indian kid patients. 
Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, this study evaluated the clinical characteristics and epidemiological profile 
of paediatric Indian individuals. 
Methods: A total of one hundred kid participants between the ages of one month and eighteen years were evaluated for 
COVID-19 using a nasopharyngeal swab, and the results were validated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain 
reaction testing (RT-PCR). Laboratory profiles and clinical parameters were evaluated in these participants, and the data 
that was gathered was statistically examined. 
Results: Fever accounted for 34% (n=34) of the study participants, with cough accounting for 16% (n=16), sore throat 
accounting for 135 (n=13), malaria accounting for 7% (n=7), diarrhoea and headache accounting for 5% (n=5) of the 
study subjects, and malaria accounting for 7% (n=7) of the study subjects. In 35 children (n = 3), 39% (n = 39), and 58% 
(n = 58), the disease was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. The lymphocyte monocyte ratio (LMR) and neutrophil
lymphocyte ratio (NLR) both significantly correlated with the severity of COVID-19 (p=0.01) and the illness, 
respectively. CRP levels and PLR (platelet lymphocyte ratio), however, showed no discernible relationship to the severity 
of the illness (p=0.06 and 0.26, respectively). 
Conclusion: Taking into account its limitations, the current study comes to the conclusion that children from low 
socioeconomic backgrounds who have had good household interaction in the past are more likely to have a larger burden 
of COVID-19 illness. A modest pattern of COVID-19 has also been seen in persons belonging to the paediatric age range.  
Overview  
SARS-CoV2 is the cause of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus illness, which has impacted a sizable population 
worldwide, including India. Children as well as subjects of all ages have been impacted by it. In Wuhan, China, COVID
19 was initially discovered in 2019 with the appearance of a significant number of cases of severe pneumonia with an 
unclear cause. Following examination of these pneumonia cases, a newly emerged virus was identified and thought to be 
the cause of pneumonia afflicting a significant number of people.1