Research Article
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Published Online: 29 January 2025

Characteristics and Outcomes of Children Hospitalized With COVID-19 During Early Pandemic and Delta Variant

Publication: Respiratory Care

Abstract

Background: Children were less affected by severe illness as compared to adults at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic progressed and variants emerged, pediatric hospitalizations increased, and some previously healthy children developed multisystem inflammatory disorder. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of children hospitalized with COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic through the Δ variant.
Methods: Data were collected retrospectively for children hospitalized during March 2020–November 2021 with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Admissions were classified as early pandemic or during the delta variant, and outcomes were compared between the time periods. Primary outcome measures were hospital length of stay and use of respiratory support. The number of admissions/month was the secondary outcome.
Results: There were 784 hospital admissions: 400 during early pandemic and 378 during the Δ period. Forty-four percent had an underlying medical condition, and 78% were not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Oxygen was the most common respiratory support modality and was required more often during Δ (P < .001). Hospital stay was longer during the Δ period (P < .001), and the number of monthly admissions was higher. A statistically significant but low correlation was identified between body mass index (BMI) Z score and stay (P < .001, r = 0.19).
Conclusions: The Δ variant was associated with increased hospital length of stay and use of respiratory support compared to the early pandemic period. Children with preexisting medical conditions were more likely to require respiratory support and have longer hospitalization than others. Higher BMI Z score was also weakly associated with longer length of stay. The reason for admission was attributed to causes other than COVID-19 for the majority of admissions except during the Δ period.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Respiratory Care
Respiratory Care

History

Published online: 29 January 2025
Accepted: 8 October 2024
Received: 20 May 2024

Topics

Authors

Affiliations

L Denise Willis* [email protected]
Mss Willis, Henderson, and Lloyd are affiliated with Respiratory Care Services, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Beverly J Spray
Dr Spray is affiliated with Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Erin Henderson
Mss Willis, Henderson, and Lloyd are affiliated with Respiratory Care Services, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Tera Lloyd
Mss Willis, Henderson, and Lloyd are affiliated with Respiratory Care Services, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Katherine Irby
Dr Irby is affiliated with Section of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Ronald Sanders Jr
Dr Sanders is affiliated with Respiratory Care Services, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas; and Section of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Notes

*
Address correspondence to: Denise Willis, MSc, RRT, RRT-NPS, AE-C, FAARC, Email: [email protected]

Author Disclosure Statement

Ms Willis is a section editor for Respiratory Care. The remaining authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.
Ms Henderson presented a version of this paper in the Open Forum at AARC Congress 2023, held November 5–9, in Nashville, Tennessee.
This study was performed at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Little Rock, Arkansas.

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