Obesity Is a Related Factor With Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia in Children: A Case Series

Author: Dong Joon KIM ¹ ; EunHyang SONG ; Kyung Nyeo JEON ; Su Eun PARK ; Ji-Hyun SEO
Author Information

1. Gyeongsang Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, the Republic of Korea
Publication Type:Case Report
From:Pediatric Infection & Vaccine 2022;29(2):77-83
CountryRepublic of Korea
Language:English
Abstract: A small proportion of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop severe pneumonia. We reported the severe COVID-19 pneumonia in children aged <18 years with COVID-19 treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone from August 2021 to November 2021 by a retrospective review of their medical records. Eight children were included (5 males and 3 females). Their median age was 16 years (range: 9 to 17 years) and their median body mass index was 30.5 kg/m 2 (range: 22.8–38.5 kg/m 2 ). All patients had fever and dyspnea with hypoxia. Chest radiographic findings were variable and included diffuse or multifocal consolidation, nodules, and ground-glass opacities in the lungs. After receiving intravenous remdesivir and dexamethasone, 7 of the 8 children experienced an improvement in their symptoms within 2 days. In our case series, obesity was present in 6 out of 8 children with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.