Download PDF
Am J Perinatol 2023; 40(05): 567-574
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1753522
Original Article

Evaluation of Newborns Diagnosed with COVID-19: A Single-Center Experience

Seda Aydoğan 
1   Department of Neonatology, University of Health Sciences, Dr Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Aysegul Zenciroglu
1   Department of Neonatology, University of Health Sciences, Dr Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Rumeysa Çitli
1   Department of Neonatology, University of Health Sciences, Dr Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Dilek Dilli 
1   Department of Neonatology, University of Health Sciences, Dr Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Suna Özdem
2   Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Health Sciences, Dr Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
› Further Information
    Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Objective The causative agent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome is a new type of coronavirus infection called coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) which has spread around the world. COVID-19 is thought to rarely affect infants, so pandemic planning focuses on adults. This study aimed to share our 1-year experience with COVID-19-positive newborns in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Study Design Hospitalized newborns after a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for COVID-19 were evaluated in this retrospective, cohort study between March 2020 and March 2021. The clinical course, laboratory tests, imaging studies, and outcomes of affected newborns were collected from medical records.

Results Eleven COVID-19-diagnosed newborns were analyzed in our study. Four (36.6%) patients had contact with a COVID-19-positive individual in their families. The main symptoms were fever (81.8%), hypoxemia (63.6%), and tachypnea (63.6%). Bacterial coinfection was identified in two newborns. Aortic coarctation was detected as an accompanied disease by a newborn who was referred to our hospital with a suspicion of congenital heart disease and two patients had a bacterial coinfection. We did not detect any cases of neonatal multisystem inflammatory syndrome. All patients were discharged in good health. None of the newborns had any complications and repeated infection with another variant during the first-year follow-up.

Conclusion Contrary to popular belief, newborns are a sensitive age group for COVID-19 and need a high rate of hospitalization. Congenital heart diseases and coinfections should not be overlooked in COVID-19-infected newborns. The acquired immunity due to COVID-19 infection protects newborns from recurrent COVID-19 infections in their first year of life. The absence of COVID-19-positive individual in the family in most cases suggests that PCR-negative adults may also play a role in the transmission of the disease.

Key Points

  • COVID-19 is still a pandemic all over the world.

  • COVID-19 is dangerous for newborns.

  • PCR-negative adults may also play a role in the transmission of the disease to the newborn.

Keywords

COVID-19 - newborn - outcomes - symptoms


Publication History

Received: 04 December 2021

Accepted: 24 April 2022

Article published online:
05 July 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

  • References

  • 1 Jiatong S, Wenjun L. Epidemiological characteristics and prevention and control measures of Corona Virus Disease 2019 in children. J Trop Med 2020; 20 (02) 153-156
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 World Health Organization (WHO). Geneva SWHO. WHO characterizes COVID-19 as a pandemic [EB/OL]. Accessed November 12, 2021 at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Tyrrell DA, Bynoe ML. Cultivation of a novel type of common-cold virus in organ cultures. BMJ 1965; 1 (5448): 1467-1470
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Lu R, Zhao X, Li J. et al. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet 2020; 395 (10224): 565-574
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese center for disease control and prevention. JAMA 2020; 323 (13) 1239-1242
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Chen H, Guo J, Wang C. et al. Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records. Lancet 2020; 395 (10226): 809-815
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Hong H, Wang Y, Chung HT, Chen CJ. Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in newborns, infants and children. Pediatr Neonatol 2020; 61 (02) 131-132
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Lu Q, Shi Y. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and neonate: what neonatologist need to know. J Med Virol 2020; 92 (06) 564-567
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Dong Y, Mo X, Hu Y. et al. Epidemiology of COVID-19 among children in China. Pediatrics 2020; 145 (06) e20200702
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Turkish Ministry of Health. COVID-19 Yeni Koronavirüs Hastalığı. Accessed November 2021 at: https://covid19bilgi.saglik.gov.tr//tr.
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Bai K, Liu W, Liu C. et al. Clinical analysis of 25 COVID-19 infections in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2020; 39 (07) e100-e103
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Kanburoglu MK, Tayman C, Oncel MY. et al. A multicentered study on epidemiyologic and clinical characteristics of 37 neonates with community-acquired COVID-19. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2020; 39 (10) e297-e302
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Panahi L, Amiri M, Pouy S. Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 infection in newborns and pediatrics: a systematic review. Arch Acad Emerg Med 2020; 8 (01) e50
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 She J, Liu L, Liu W. COVID-19 epidemic: disease characteristics in children. J Med Virol 2020; 92 (07) 747-754
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Shelmerdine SC, Gerrard CY, Rao P. et al. Joint European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR) and International Society for Forensic Radiology and Imaging (ISFRI) guidelines: paediatric postmortem computed tomography imaging protocol. Pediatr Radiol 2019; 49 (05) 694-701
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Xia W, Shao J, Guo Y, Peng X, Li Z, Hu D. Clinical and CT features in pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection: different points from adults. Pediatr Pulmonol 2020; 55 (05) 1169-1174
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Hu T, Fang L, Junling W. et al. .Clinical characteristics of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection in children and family prevention and control. Med J Wuhan Univ, 10 DOI: 10.14188/j.1671-8852.2020.6020.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Tezer H, Bedir Demirdağ T. Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in children. Turk J Med Sci 2020; 50 (SI-1): 592-603
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Erdeve Ö, Çetinkaya M, Baş AY. et al. The Turkish Neonatal Society proposal for the management of COVID-19 in the neonatal intensive care unit. Turk Pediatri Ars 2020; 55 (02) 86-92
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Hopwood AJ, Jordan-Villegas A, Gutierrez LD. et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pneumonia in a newborn treated with remdesivir and coronavirus disease 2019 convalescent plasma. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2021; 10 (05) 691-694
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Pereira A, Cruz-Melguizo S, Adrien M. et al. Breastfeeding mothers with COVID-19 infection: a case series. Int Breastfeed J 2020; 15 (01) 69
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar