Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 is usually less severe and has lower case fatality in children than in adults. We aimed to characterise the clinical features of children and adolescents hospitalised with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and to evaluate the risk factors for COVID-19-related death in this population.MethodsWe did an analysis of all patients younger than 20 years who had quantitative RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 and were registered in the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (SIVEP-Gripe, a nationwide surveillance database of patients admitted to hospital with severe acute respiratory disease in Brazil), between Feb 16, 2020, and Jan 9, 2021. The primary outcome was time to recovery (discharge) or in-hospital death, evaluated by competing risks analysis using the cumulative incidence function.FindingsOf the 82 055 patients younger than 20 years reported to SIVEP-Gripe during the study period, 11 613 (14·2%) had available data showing laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and were included in the sample. Among these patients, 886 (7·6%) died in hospital (at a median 6 days [IQR 3-15] after hospital admission), 10 041 (86·5%) patients were discharged from the hospital, 369 (3·2%) were in hospital at the time of analysis, and 317 (2·7%) were missing information on outcome. The estimated probability of death was 4·8% during the first 10 days after hospital admission, 6·7% during the first 20 days, and 8·1% at the end of follow-up. Probability of discharge was 54·1% during the first 10 days, 78·4% during the first 20 days, and 92·0% at the end of follow-up. Our competing risks multivariate survival analysis showed that risk of death was increased in infants younger than 2 years (hazard ratio 2·36 [95% CI 1·94-2·88]) or adolescents aged 12-19 years (2·23 [1·84-2·71]) relative to children aged 2-11 years; those of Indigenous ethnicity (3·36 [2·15-5·24]) relative to those of White ethnicity; those living in the Northeast region (2·06 [1·68-2·52]) or North region (1·55 [1·22-1·98]) relative to those in the Southeast region; and those with one (2·96 [2·52-3·47]), two (4·96 [3·80-6·48]), or three or more (7·28 [4·56-11·6]) pre-existing medical conditions relative to those with none.InterpretationDeath from COVID-19 was associated with age, Indigenous ethnicity, poor geopolitical region, and pre-existing medical conditions. Disparities in health care, poverty, and comorbidities can contribute to magnifying the burden of COVID-19 in more vulnerable and socioeconomically disadvantaged children and adolescents in Brazil.FundingNational Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Research Support Foundation of Minas Gerais.
Project description:ObjectivesTo analyse how previous comorbidities, ethnicity, regionality and socioeconomic development are associated with COVID-19 mortality in hospitalised children and adolescents.DesignCross-sectional observational study using publicly available data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health.SettingNationwide.Participants5857 patients younger than 20 years old, all of them hospitalised with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, from 1 January 2020 to 7 December 2020.Main outcome measureWe used multilevel mixed-effects generalised linear models to study in-hospital mortality, stratifying the analysis by age, region of the country, presence of non-communicable diseases, ethnicity and socioeconomic development.ResultsIndividually, most of the included comorbidities were risk factors for mortality. Notably, asthma was a protective factor (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.67). Having more than one comorbidity increased almost tenfold the odds of death (OR 9.67, 95% CI 6.89 to 13.57). Compared with white children, Indigenous, Pardo (mixed) and East Asian had significantly higher odds of mortality (OR 5.83, 95% CI 2.43 to 14.02; OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.51; OR 2.98, 95% CI 1.02 to 8.71, respectively). We also found a regional influence (higher mortality in the North-OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.48 to 4.65) and a socioeconomic association (lower mortality among children from more socioeconomically developed municipalities-OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.38) CONCLUSIONS: Besides the association with comorbidities, we found ethnic, regional and socioeconomic factors shaping the mortality of children hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil. Our findings identify risk groups among children that should be prioritised for public health measures, such as vaccination.
Project description:ObjectiveTo provide a comprehensive description of demographic, clinical and radiographic characteristics; treatment and case outcomes; and risk factors associated with in-hospital death of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil.DesignRetrospective cohort study of hospitalised patients diagnosed with COVID-19.SettingData from all hospitals across Brazil.Participants522 167 hospitalised patients in Brazil by 14 December 2020 with severe acute respiratory illness, and a confirmed diagnosis for COVID-19.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrevalence of symptoms and comorbidities was compared by clinical outcomes and intensive care unit (ICU) admission status. Survival was assessed using Kaplan Meier survival estimates. Risk factors associated with in-hospital death were evaluated with multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression.ResultsOf the 522 167 patients included in this study, 56.7% were discharged, 0.002% died of other causes, 30.7% died of causes associated with COVID-19 and 10.2% remained hospitalised. The median age of patients was 61 years (IQR, 47-73), and of non-survivors 71 years (IQR, 60-80); 292 570 patients (56.0%) were men. At least one comorbidity was present in 64.5% of patients and in 76.8% of non-survivors. From illness onset, the median times to hospital and ICU admission were 6 days (IQR, 3-9) and 7 days (IQR, 3-10), respectively; 15 days (IQR, 9-24) to death and 15 days (IQR, 11-20) to hospital discharge. Risk factors for in-hospital death included old age, Black/Brown ethnoracial self-classification, ICU admission, being male, living in the North and Northeast regions and various comorbidities. Age had the highest HRs of 5.51 (95% CI: 4.91 to 6.18) for patients≥80, compared with those ≤20.ConclusionsCharacteristics of patients and risk factors for in-hospital mortality highlight inequities of COVID-19 outcomes in Brazil. As the pandemic continues to unfold, targeted policies that address those inequities are needed to mitigate the unequal burden of COVID-19.