ICU Admission, Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, and Mortality among Children and Adolescents Hospitalized for COVID-19 in a Private Healthcare System

Maria da Gloria Cruvinel Horta; Geraldo Jose Coelho Ribeiro; Nelson Otavio Beltrao Campos; Douglas Ribeiro de Oliveira; Lelia Maria de Almeida Carvalho; Karina de Castro Zocrato; Daniel Pitchon Dos Reis; Mariana Ribeiro Fernandes; Ricardo Mesquita Camelo; Fernando Martin Biscione; Silvana Marcia Bruschi Kelles

doi:10.1155/2023/1698407

ICU Admission, Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, and Mortality among Children and Adolescents Hospitalized for COVID-19 in a Private Healthcare System

Int J Pediatr. 2023 Feb 23:2023:1698407. doi: 10.1155/2023/1698407. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Research and Health Care Management (Gerencia de Pesquisa e Atençao a Saude, GPAS), Unimed-BH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
² Health Data Science Management (Gerencia de Ciencia de Dados em Saude, GCDS), Unimed-BH, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Abstract

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic devastated healthcare around the world. Data about the COVID-19 outcomes among young people are still scarce. We aim to identify factors associated with the composite outcome among children and adolescents hospitalized due to COVID-19.

Methods: We performed a search in the database of a large Brazilian private healthcare system. Insured people aged 21 years or younger who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 from Feb/28th/2020 to Nov/1st/2021 were included. The primary endpoint was the composite outcome consisting of ICU admission, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, or death.

Results: We evaluated 199 patients who had an index hospitalization due to COVID-19. The median monthly rate of index hospitalization was 2.7 (interquartile range [IQR], 1.6-3.9) per 100,000 clients aged 21 years or less. The median age of the patients was 4.5 years (IQR, 1.4-14.1). At the index hospitalization, the composite outcome rate was 26.6%. The composite outcome was associated with all the previous coexisting morbidities evaluated. The median follow-up was 249.0 days (IQR, 152.0-438.5). There were 27 readmissions (16 patients) within 30 days after the discharge.

Conclusions: In conclusion, hospitalized children and adolescents had a composite outcome rate of 26.6% at the index hospitalization. Having previous chronic morbidity was associated with the composite.