Pediatric Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Clinical Characteristics and Cycle Threshold Value (CT value) of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) of Nasopharyngeal Samples

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to characterize epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and to evaluate relationship of cycle threshold value (CT value) of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test (As surrogate marker of viral load) with patient age and severity of infection. Methods: We retrospectively collected data of children and adolescents admitted in our center from April 2020 to July 2020 with positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. Results: Total 62 children, with median (IQR) of age 96 (54 - 122) months and 39 adolescents with median (IQR) of age 19.5 (18.2 - 20) years were included. 56 (90%) children and 34 (87%) adolescents had history of SARSCoV-2 positive cases in their family. Only nine (14%) children had associated risk factor for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fever was the commonest symptom which was present in 24 (39%) children and 16 (41%) adolescents. Cough was present in 17 (27%) children and 10 (26%) adolescents. Diarrhea was found in 14 (23%) children and three (8%) adolescents. CT values of RT-PCR test were similar in children and adolescence (p = 0.48). However, asymptomatic children had higher CT values than symptomatic children (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Majority of children have asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection with similar CT values in children and adolescents.