Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected individuals of all ages
across. Although children generally experience a benign illness from COVID-19, the
emergence of novel variants of the virus has resulted in significant changes in the
morbidity and mortality rates for this age group. Currently, COVID-19 is the eighth
leading cause of pediatric deaths in the United States. In addition to acute respiratory
illness, some children can develop a severe postinfectious condition known as a multisystem
inflammatory syndrome in children, which can progress to rapid-onset cardiogenic shock.
Recovery from COVID-19 can also be slow for some children, resulting in persistent
or reoccurring symptoms for months, commonly referred to as long COVID. These postinfectious
sequelae are often distressing for children and their parents, can negatively impact
the quality of life, and impose a considerable burden on the health care system. In
this article, we review the clinical epidemiology of pediatric COVID-19 and outline
the management considerations for its acute and postacute manifestations.
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 - MIS-C - pediatric - children - long COVID
