A new study found in Toronto that over 6% of children who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with Covid-19 had symptoms of long-Covid 90 days later.
According to the study published in the journal 'JAMA Network Open,' initial hospitalisation of 48 hours or more, four or more symptoms at the initial ED visit, and being 14 years or older were all related with long-Covid.
"We found that sickness with Covid-19 is connected with reporting persisting symptoms after three months in some children," said University of Calgary researcher Stephen Freedman. "Our findings imply that careful guidance and follow-up are required, particularly for children at high risk of long-Covid," Freedman noted.
The team included 1,884 children with Covid-19 who had a 90-day follow-up in the study. Long-Covid was detected in nearly 10% of hospitalised children and 5% of children discharged from the emergency department.
"Reported rates of long-Covid in adults are significantly greater than what we discovered in children," said the University of California, Davis researcher Nathan Kuppermann. "Our findings can help impact public health policy decisions about Covid-19 mitigation techniques for children and long-Covid screening approaches for those with severe illnesses," Kuppermann noted.
Children's most common chronic symptoms were weariness or weakness, cough, difficulty breathing, or shortness of breath.
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