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The novel coronavirus, named as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 has emerged as a global emergency. In December 2019, from a local outbreak in Wuhan, China, it has rapidly progressed to a global pandemic causing high morbidity and mortality exhausting all health-care facilities. COVID-19 is like any other respiratory virus but has more propensity to infect the lower parts of the respiratory system, namely bronchioles and alveoli. The innate and adaptive immune response helps the body to fight the virus. Atypical presentations such as Kawasaki disease, chilblain like lesions and other cutaneous manifestations, systemic inflammatory response syndrome-like illness (Toxic shock syndrome), Guillain--Barre syndrome, and other immune-related disorders have also been reported in various countries. Rapidly increasing cases worldwide have aroused global concerns regarding the need to understand the immunopathogenesis of the virus and possible explanations for various atypical manifestations occurring in children. This review is aimed at providing a complete understanding of the probable immune response in children and might predict future therapeutic target points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a common acquired polyneuropathy in children.Aim: To describe the clinical and serial electrophysiological features along with short-term outcomes of children with GBS in north India.Setting and Design: This was a prospective study conducted at a tertiary care pediatric hospital in north India.Materials and Methods: Consecutive children, aged 2 to 18 years, with GBS, presenting within 4-weeks of onset of weakness, diagnosed on clinical and/or electrophysiological grounds, were enrolled. The enrolled children underwent a detailed clinical-assessment followed by nerve conduction studies. Repeat nerve conduction studies were performed after 2-weeks of the first study to determine changes in the electrophysiological subtype. The patients were followed up for 3 months.Results: Thirty-six children were studied. The mean age at presentation was 5.1 years [standard deviation (SD): 2.1]. The mean medical research council (MRC)-sum-score at admission was 24.1 (SD: 10.4). Thirty-three children (91%) had loss of ambulation, 24 (66%) had cranial nerve involvement, and 6 (16.6%) required ventilation. At presentation, 20 had acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), 13 had acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), 2 had in-excitable nerves, and 1 had normal findings. Four children, initially diagnosed as AIDP, had AMAN with reversible conduction failure on the repeat study. The final classification was AMAN in 25 (69.4%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 51.9-83.7%) and AIDP in 9 children (25%; 95% CI, 12.1-42.2%). Only one patient was nonambulatory at a 3-month follow-up (n = 32). The Erasmus GBS outcome score was 2 in 2 (5.6%), 3 in 5 (13.9%), 4 in 26 (72.2%), and 5 in 3 (8.3%) patients.Conclusions: The serial electrophysiological studies were helpful in establishing the final correct diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]