Pediatr Infect Vaccine.  2022 Aug;29(2):77-83. 10.14776/piv.2022.29.e8.

Obesity Is a Related Factor With Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia in Children: A Case Series

• Kim DJ
• Song E
• Jeon KN
• Park SE
• Seo JH

• KMID: 2538279
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/piv.2022.29.e8

Abstract

A small proportion of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop severe pneumonia. We reported the severe COVID-19 pneumonia in children aged <18 years with COVID-19 treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone from August 2021 to November 2021 by a retrospective review of their medical records. Eight children were included (5 males and 3 females). Their median age was 16 years (range: 9 to 17 years) and their median body mass index was 30.5 kg/m ² (range: 22.8–38.5 kg/m ² ). All patients had fever and dyspnea with hypoxia. Chest radiographic findings were variable and included diffuse or multifocal consolidation, nodules, and ground-glass opacities in the lungs. After receiving intravenous remdesivir and dexamethasone, 7 of the 8 children experienced an improvement in their symptoms within 2 days. In our case series, obesity was present in 6 out of 8 children with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Keyword

COVID-19; Pneumonia; Child; Obesity