Abstract

Aim: Aim of this study was to investigate the features of neurological symptoms in pediatric patients hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2022 and to analyze similar symptoms according to the literature. We retrospectively investigated 945 cases of the disease in children aged from birth to 17 years, who were hospitalized in KCCCIDH in Kyiv, Ukraine with a diagnosis of coronavirus in the period from June 2020 to February 2022. Among them, cases with neurological symptoms were analyzed. Peculiarities of the clinical picture and results of laboratory researches were determined. To conduct a statistical study of the results, we used the statistical package Statistical software EZR v. 1.54. Results: Neurological symptoms were observed in 142 (15%) patients. Of these, the most numerous was the group of children aged 10 to 18 years, was 55.6% (79/142). The leading neurological symptoms in children were headache (11.7%), ageusia, anosmia (7%), convulsive syndrome (1.2%), acute polyneuropathy (1.2%) and myalgia/arthralgia (3.7%). Among the laboratory data, we found prognostic value for the appearance of neurological symptoms in leukocytes (0.706; 95% CI 0.443-1.124), C-reactive protein (0.708; 95% CI 0.410-1.220) and procalcitonin (0.33; 95% CI 0.21-0.47). Conclusion: Neurological symptoms are a common manifestation in children in the acute period of coronavirus disease. Further monitoring and control studies are needed to cover the acute onset of neurological symptoms, the results of the neurological examination, the rate of progression and the long-term consequences of nervous system disorders in children with COVID-19.

Keywords: Coronavirus infection; Children; Neurological disorders; Complications