A systematic review of characteristics associated with covid‐19 in children with typical presentation and with multisystem inflammatory syndrome

Abstract

Setting off a global pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has been marked by a heterogeneous clinical presentation that runs the gamut from asymptomatic to severe and fatal. Although less lethal in children than adults, COVID‐19 has nonetheless afflicted the pediatric population. This systematic review used clinical information from published literature to assess the spectrum of COVID‐19 presentation in children, with special emphasis on characteristics associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS‐C). An electronic literature search for English and Chinese language articles in COVIDSeer, MEDLINE, and PubMed from 1 January 2020 through 1 March 2021 returned 579 records, of which 54 were included for full evaluation. Out of the total 4811 patients, 543 (11.29%) exhibited MIS‐C. The most common symptoms across all children were fever and sore throat. Children presenting with MIS‐C were less likely to exhibit sore throat and respiratory symptoms (i.e., cough, shortness of breath) compared to children without MIS‐C. Inflammatory (e.g., rash, fever, and weakness) and gastrointestinal (e.g., nausea/vomiting and diarrhea) symptoms were present to a greater extent in children with both COVID‐19 and MIS‐C, suggesting that children testing positive for COVID‐19 and exhibiting such symptoms should be evaluated for MIS‐C.