Analysis of the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 infection on the pediatric population hospitalized during the pandemic in the Greater Paris University Hospitals

Michaela Semeraro; Pierre Pinson; Margaux Populaire; Mourad Dellagi; Mehdi Oualha; Nathanael Beeker; Hélène Chappuy

doi:10.3389/fped.2023.1044352

Analysis of the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 infection on the pediatric population hospitalized during the pandemic in the Greater Paris University Hospitals

Front Pediatr. 2023 Feb 27:11:1044352. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1044352. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Michaela Semeraro^{1

2}, Pierre Pinson^{2

3}, Margaux Populaire¹, Mourad Dellagi^{2

3}, Mehdi Oualha^{2

3

4}, Nathanael Beeker^{2

3}, Hélène Chappuy^{2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Centre D'Investigation Clinique-Unité de Recherche Clinique, Hôpital Universitaire Necker Enfants-Malades, GH Paris Centre, Paris, France.
² EA7323 Pediatric and Perinatal Drug Evaluation and Pharmacology, Université Paris Cité, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris, France.
³ Unité de Recherche Clinique, Hôpital Cochin, Paris, France.
⁴ Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Necker-Enfants-Malades University Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris University, EA7323, Paris, France.
⁵ Service D'Urgences Pédiatriques, Hôpital Necker - Enfants Malades, Groupe Hospitalier AP-HP.Centre, EA7323, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.

Abstract

Background: The clinical characteristics, disease progression and outcome in children affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection appear significantly milder compared to older individuals. Nevertheless, the trends in hospitalization and clinical characteristics in the pediatric population seem to be different over time across the different epidemic waves.

Objective: Our aim was to understand the impact of the different COVID-19 variants in the pediatric population hospitalized in the Pediatric Departments of the Public Hospital in the Greater Paris area by the analysis performed with the Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP) Health Data Warehouse.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study including 9,163 patients under 18 years of age, hospitalized from 1 March 2020 to 22 March 2022, in the Paris area, with confirmed infection by SARS-CoV-2. Three mutually exclusive groups with decreasing severity (Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS), symptomatic infection, mild or asymptomatic infection) were defined and described regarding demography, medical history, complication of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and treatment during admission. Temporal evolution was described by defining three successive waves (March-September 2020, October 2020-October 2021, and November 2021-March 2022) corresponding to the emergence of the successive variants.

Results: In the study period, 9,163 pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were hospitalized in 21 AP-HP hospitals. The number of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection increased over time for each wave of the pandemic (the mean number of patients per month during the first wave was 332, 322 during the 2nd, and 595 during the third wave). In the medical history, the most associated concomitant disease was chronic respiratory disease. Patients hospitalized during the third wave presented a higher incidence of pulmonary involvement (10.2% compared to 7% and 6.5% during the first and second waves, respectively). The highest incidence of PIMS was observed during the first and second waves (4.2% in the first and second waves compared to 2.3% in the 3rd wave).

Discussion: This analysis highlighted the high incidence of hospitalized children in the Greater Paris Area during the third wave of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic corresponding to the Omicron Covid-19 variant, which is probably an expression of a concomitant SARS-CoV-2, while a decreased incidence of PIMS complication was observed during the same period.

Keywords: MIS-C multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children; PIMS; SARS-CoV-2; children; data warehouse; hospitalized child.