Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2021 | Cough | Research article
Comparison of clinical features on admission between coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza a among children: a retrospective study in China
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases | Issue 1/2021
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Background
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) share similar symptoms with influenza A (IA), but it is more worthwhile to understand the disparities of the two infections regarding their clinical characteristics on admission.
Methods
A total of 71 age-matched pediatric IA and COVID-19 patient pairs were formed and their clinical data on admission were compared.
Results
Fever, cough, nasal congestion and nausea/vomiting were the most common symptoms on admission for both infections but occurred less often in COVID-19. The IA patients were more likely to have lower-than-normal levels of lymphocyte count and percentage and to have higher-than-normal levels of activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, serum C-reactive protein, and serum procalcitonin, while the COVID-19 patients had higher odds of having lower-than-normal levels of neutrophil count and percentage.
Conclusions
This study suggests that influenza A is more symptomatic than COVID-19 for children and might be an overall more severe infection at the time of admission.