CLINICAL FEATURES AND OUTCOMES OF COVID-19 IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), usually has a mild or moderate clinical course in children. However, the presence of congenital heart disease (CHD) may increase the vulnerability of pediatric patients to respiratory, cardiovascular, and systemic complications. The interaction between pre-existing structural cardiac abnormalities and acute SARS-CoV-2 infection remains clinically important because children with CHD may have limited cardiopulmonary reserve and may respond differently to systemic inflammation and hypoxemia.