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BackgroundPediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) is a complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in children that resembles Kawasaki syndrome and places them at high risk of cardiorespiratory instability and/or cardiac damage. This study aims to describe the clinical presentation and outcomes of patients with PIMS in Mexico City.MethodsThis was an observational study of children hospitalized for PIMS based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition criteria, in a single tertiary care pediatric center in Mexico City between May 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. Demographic characteristics, epidemiological data, medical history, laboratory tests, cardiologic evaluations, treatment, and clinical outcomes were analyzed.ResultsSeventy-five cases fulfilled the case definition criteria for PIMS [median age: 10.9 years, Interquartile range (IQR): 5.6–15.6]. Fifteen (20%) patients had a severe underlying disease, 48 (64%) were admitted to the intensive care unit, 33 (44%) required invasive mechanical ventilation and 39 (52%) received vasopressor support. The patients were clustered through latent class analysis based on identified symptoms: Cluster 1 had rash or gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 60) and cluster 2 were those with predominantly respiratory manifestations (n = 15). Two patients (2.7%) died, and both had severe underlying conditions. Five patients (6.7%), all from cluster 1, developed coronary aneurysms.ConclusionThere were a high proportion of patients with severe respiratory involvement and positive RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 and very few cases of coronary aneurysms in our study which suggests that a high proportion of the children had severe acute COVID-19. The clinical manifestations and outcomes are comparable to previously reported international studies.

BackgroundAt the beginning of the current COVID-19 pandemic, it became critical to isolate all infected patients, regardless of their age. Isolating children has a negative effect on both, them and their parents/caregivers. Nevertheless isolation was mandatory because of the potential risk that visitation might have on COVID-19 dissemination mostly among health personnel.MethodsFrom the starting of the COVID-19 pandemic in our pediatric hospital visits were forbidden. This 2 months period (April–May) was called P1. In June parents were allowed to visit (P2), under a visiting protocol previously published. Hospital workers were monitored for the presence of COVID-19 symptoms and tested for the infection when clinically justified. The positivity proportion and the relative risk (RR) of COVID-19 among the health personnel between periods were calculated. The caregivers were also followed up by phone calls.ResultsSince April 2020 to November 2020, 2,884 health personnel were studied for 234 days, (318,146 workers days). Although the COVID-19/1,000 health personnel days rate decreased from one period to another (1.43 vs 1.23), no statistically significant differences were found. During P1, 16 patients with COVID-19 were treated. During the follow up none of the family members were infected/symptomatic in P1, while in P2, 6/129 (4.65%) were symptomatic or had a positive test. All of them initiated between 2 and 4 days after the patient's admission. As they also had some other infected family members it was not possible to ensure the source of infection. There were no statistically significant differences in the RR of COVID-19 in health personnel, (RR 1, 95% CI 0.69–1.06, p = 0.162).ConclusionsWhen safely implemented, allowing parents/caregivers to spend time with their hospitalized COVID-19 children does not increase the contagion risk for hospital workers or among themselves.

IntroductionIn children, the manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the acute phase are considered mild compared with those in adults; however, some children experience a severe disease that requires hospitalization. This study was designed to present the operation and follow-up results of the Post-COVID-19 Detection and Monitoring Sequels Clinic of Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gómez in managing children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.MethodsThis was a prospective study conducted from July 2020 to December 2021, which included 215 children aged 0–18 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on polymerase chain reaction and/or immunoglobulin G test. The follow-up was conducted in the pulmonology medical consultation; ambulatory and hospitalized patients were assessed at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months.ResultsThe median age of the patients was 9.02 years, and neurological, endocrinological, pulmonary, oncological, and cardiological comorbidities were the most commonly observed among the patients. Moreover, 32.6% of the children had persistent symptoms at 2 months, 9.3% at 4 months, and 2.3% at 6 months, including dyspnea, dry cough, fatigue, and runny nose; the main acute complications were severe pneumonia, coagulopathy, nosocomial infections, acute renal injury, cardiac dysfunction, and pulmonary fibrosis. The more representative sequelae were alopecia, radiculopathy, perniosis, psoriasis, anxiety, and depression.ConclusionsThis study showed that children experience persistent symptoms, such as dyspnea, dry cough, fatigue, and runny nose, although to a lesser extent than adults, with significant clinical improvement 6 months after the acute infection. These results indicate the importance of monitoring children with COVID-19 through face-to-face consultations or telemedicine, with the objective of offering multidisciplinary and individualized care to preserve the health and quality of life of these children.

Introduction: Healthcare-associated infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality, are among the most common adverse events in healthcare, and of them, pneumonia is the most commonly reported. Our objective was to evaluate the incidence and clinical outcome of respiratory viruses in hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP).Methods: This was a prospective cohort study, include patients aged between 0 and 18 who fulfilled Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for HAP. Demographic and clinical data were obtained, and a nasopharyngeal swab specimen was taken for the detection of respiratory viruses. All included patients were monitored until discharge to collect data on the need for mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality. All-cause 30-day mortality was also ascertained.Results: Four thousand three hundred twenty-seven patients were followed for 42,658 patient-days and 5,150 ventilator-days. Eighty-eight patients (2.03%) met the CDC criteria for HAP, 63 patients were included, and clinical and epidemiological characteristics showed no statistically significant differences between patients with virus associated healthcare-associated pneumonia (VAHAP) and those with non-viral healthcare-associated pneumonia (NVHAP). At least one respiratory virus was detected in 65% [95% CI (53–77)] of episodes of HAP, with a single viral pathogen observed in 53.9% and coinfection with 2 viruses in 11.1% of cases. The outcome in terms of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and the 30-day mortality did not show a significant difference between groups.Conclusions: In two-thirds of the patients a respiratory virus was identified. There was no difference in mortality or the rest of the clinical outcome variables. About half of the patients required mechanical ventilation and 10% died, which emphasizes the importance of considering these pathogens in nosocomial infections, since their identification can influence the decrease in hospital costs and be taken into account in infection control policies.