Aim: The global COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has led to both acute and long-term health consequences worldwide. Long COVID, characterized by persistent symptoms lasting weeks or months after recovery from the acute infection, has been increasingly reported. This study aims to evaluate the long-term symptoms of COVID-19 in hospitalized and non-hospitalized pediatric patients, following WHO criteria for Long COVID. Methods: This prospective study was conducted between June 2020 and June 2021 at Sancaktepe Training and Research Hospital. A total of 60 children with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 were included. The study participants were divided into three groups: Group 1 (30 children followed up in the outpatient clinic), Group 2 (30 children hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)), and Group 3 (30 children without a prior COVID-19 infection as the control group). Parents completed a questionnaire assessing symptoms persisting for 12 weeks after diagnosis. Results: Group 2 experienced significantly more symptoms during both the acute and post-acute periods, including fatigue, shortness of breath, fever, weight loss, muscle/joint pain, and neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, sleep disturbances, and headache. Fatigue was particularly prevalent among hospitalized children, with anxiety and sleep disturbances also being significantly more common in the same group. Conclusions: Long COVID is a significant concern for pediatric patients. Fatigue, anxiety, sleep disorders, and headache were the most frequent persistent symptoms. These findings emphasize the need for continued surveillance and targeted rehabilitation strategies to address the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children's physical and mental health.
Bostancı et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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