Coronavirus disease 2019 in the Pediatric Population: Clinical Characteristics and Therapeutic Approaches

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) generally presents with milder illness in children and adolescents than in adults; however, infants and those with underlying chronic conditions, obesity, or immunocompromised states remain at increased risk for severe disease and death.Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) affects multiple organs, including the heart, gastrointestinal tract, and skin, and can result in severe illness requiring hospitalization or death.In children and adolescents, long COVID manifests with age-dependent, heterogeneous symptoms, leading not only to persistent physical complaints but also to neurologic manifestations and mental health problems.Therefore, evidence-based clinical guidelines and approved treatments for COVID-19 in children and adolescents remain limited, and research is needed to build a pediatric evidence base.Generating high-quality data is essential to develop optimized diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, establish standardized care pathways, and ultimately improve preparedness and outcomes for children and adolescents during future emerging infectious disease outbreaks.In this clinical information article, we review the epidemiology, clinical symptoms, complications, and drug treatment of COVID-19 in the pediatric population.