Janell Lautermilch, Yeh Ea, M. Lefebvre, Michelle Barton, Alison Lopez, Ronald M. Laxer, Jesse Papenburg, Suzette Cooke, Jennifer Bowes, Alejandra Soriano-Fallas, Cheryl Foo, Manish Sadarangani, Gabriela Ivankovich-Escoto, Ashley Roberts, Peter J Gill, Tammie Dewan, Behzad Haghighi Aski, Carmen Yea, Joan L. Robinson, Shaun K. Morris, Adriana Yock-Corrales, Rachel Dwilow, Jared Bullard, Alireza Nateghian, Nicole Le Saux, Rolando Ulloa-Gutierrez, Jacqueline Wong, Lea Restivo, Tala El Tal, Rupeena Purewal, Mezerville MHd, Helena Brenes-Chacon, Ali Manafi, and Ari Bitnun
Background: Knowledge about neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 in children is limited. We describe neurological manifestations in an international cohort of hospitalized pediatric patients. Methods: This is a multi-national observational study involving tertiary healthcare institutions in Canada, Costa Rica and Iran. We included patients 1 day-18 years admitted for any medical reason February 1, 2020-January 31, 2021 with laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR or serological testing. Descriptive analyses and logistic regression were performed where appropriate using JASP version 0⋅13. Findings: 298 hospitalized children with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (median age 3⋅9 years [IQR 0⋅6-10⋅1]) from Canada (n=152), Costa Rica (n=115) and Iran (n=31) were included. Fifty-one (17%) had neurological manifestations, of which headache (73%), seizures (23%) and altered mental status (6%) were most frequently seen. Children with neurological symptoms had equivalent rates of comorbidities overall but were more likely to have underlying chronic neurological conditions. Additionally, those with neurological symptoms were more likely to be admitted to the ICU (15/51 [29%] vs. 32/247 [13%]; p =0⋅0033) and had longer length of hospital stay (6 days [IQR 3-8] vs. 4 days [IQR 2-7]; p =0⋅0060). Abnormalities were found in all children with neurological manifestations who received neuroimaging (n=6). Neurological manifestations were seen in 19% of the Iranian cohort, 23% of the Costa Rican cohort, and 12% of the Canadian cohort. Country of residence Costa Rica (adjusted OR: 2⋅520, 95% CI: 1⋅325-4⋅791, p =0⋅005), ICU admission (adjusted OR: 2⋅678, 95% CI: 1⋅307-5⋅486, p =0⋅007) and number of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms (adjusted OR: 1⋅355, 95% CI: 1⋅232-1⋅491, p