Long COVID in children: Partnerships between families and paediatricians are a priority for better care, 2021, Buonsenso et al

‘Damn sickness. I cannot believe that someone still does not believe it. The situation my son is experiencing must be a teaching one. People must know that even the youngest are involved’. Cosimo's voice is firm, but tired. Policeman, 46 years old, lives with his family in a small town in Southern Italy. His son, Giuseppe, is an 11-year-old slim boy. For 4 months, he has been fighting with Long COVID, the term accepted by the WHO to describe the medium- and long-term effects of Sars-CoV-2 infection in adults.1

Long COVID is now recognised by the international scientific community. A study published in The Lancet, carried out on 1733 patients in Wuhan, identified persistent symptoms in 76% of cases up to 6 months after diagnosis.2Countless studies independently confirmed these clinical findings in different countries. At the moment, however, there is a lack of in-depth data on childhood. Initially described in a small cohort of five children in Sweden,3 a larger Italian study4 and, more recently, an online survey in the UK5 provided preliminary evidence of Long COVID in children as well. Nevertheless, these studies received criticisms, particularly on social media and national news channels: several people, including medical researchers, still think that these symptoms may be due to other causes, including the restrictions rather than the virus itself.6, 7

Open access, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpc.15600

 

Plus ca change ...
Given the current paediatric paradigm for ME be careful what you wish for ..