Clinical and paraclinical features of the course of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 in primary school-age children depending on gender

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for 2.5 years, which is a serious challenge for the health care systems of most countries of the world. The high frequency of mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 changes the epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations of the disease, as well as consequences after infection.Aim of the study. To conduct an analysis of the clinical and paraclinical features of the course of COVID-19 in primary school-age children, taking into account gender, to improve the prognosis of the severity and duration of the disease, to optimize the tactics of managing patients.Materials and methods. 55 clinical cases of COVID-19 in primary school-age patients were analyzed. The gender of the patients was considered a group-forming feature. The obtained results were analyzed by methods of descriptive statistics biostatistics, and clinical epidemiology.Results. It was established that half of the male patients and 44.4% of the girls had registered complications of the main disease, mainly in the form of acute respiratory failure. The onset of the disease was characterized by general weakness and fever. Cough was more likely to be noted among boys, while in girls, there was a tendency to increase the frequency of complaints of nasal congestion. In the hospital, during the physical examination, the pathological sounds under the lungs during auscultation were registered significantly more common in male patients (75.0±8.2 versus 48.1±9.6%, Рφ < 0,05). Male gender, residence in the cities, violation in vaccination schedule, dyspnea, the level of blood oxygen saturation below 95% during hospitalization are characterized with a high predictive value of a longer hospitalization period.Conclusion. The course of COVID-19 in primary school-aged children was not dependent on gender and was multisymptomatic, however, the average duration of hospitalization was significantly higher among male patients. Incomplete vaccination status increased the attributive relative risks of more bed days in the hospital with an odds ratio of 6.7:1.