Introduction
Long-term sequelae following coronavirus 2019 infection (COVID-19) have
been extensively described in adult population. Diagnosis of post-COVID
syndrome is mainly reserved for clinical features persisting more than
twelve weeks after an acute COVID-19 and not explained by an alternative
diagnosis. About 10% of adults in an ambulatory setting and about 70%
of previously hospitalized people reported miscellaneous general or more
specified symptoms three months after COVID-19 onset. These included
fatigue, fever, pain, or neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular,
gastrointestinal, dermatologic, musculoskeletal, and other organ
symptoms. Although meta-analyses confirmed lower incidence and severity
of acute pediatric COVID-19, great attention is devoted to severe
complications following infection in a pediatric population known as
multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), so-called
pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with
SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS). Syndrome develops within four weeks after COVID 19
exposure and is associated with a high risk of multiorgan failure,
especially with severe cardiac involvement [6]. Pediatric post-COVID
syndrome represents different diagnosis focused on long-lasting
symptoms. Only limited data regarding incidence, clinical picture,
diagnosis, therapy, or prognosis of pediatric post-COVID are available.
Recently, several case series recruited from random parental contact of
physician by internet web social media forum, survey from patients of
pediatric departments,cohorts of randomly selected school classes with
population-based seronegative control group single center cohort
examined by phone call and outpatient assessment and prospective cohort
study based on self-data reporting by a mobile application were
published.
The objective of our study was to explore clinical picture, severity,
and prognosis of post-COVID syndrome in children with a dominant focus
on the respiratory system. Children were referred and followed up by the
national network of Czech pediatric pulmonologists. Additionally, we
suggested and tested a panel of screening tests for diagnosis and
evaluation of structural and functional anomalies of the respiratory
tract in pediatric post-COVID.