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Fifteen-minute consultation: Does this child have COVID-19 (and does it matter)?
  1. Caroline Ponmani1,
  2. Damian Roland2,3
  1. 1 Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust, Romford, UK
  2. 2 SAPPHIRE Group, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
  3. 3 Paediatric Emergency Medicine Leicester Academic (PEMLA) Group, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Caroline Ponmani, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust, Romford RM7 0AG, UK; caroline.ponmani{at}nhs.net

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 was identified as a new virus in January 2020 following reports of pneumonia of unknown aetiology from China. Since then, the virus has spread rapidly throughout the world. While evidence accumulates on the collateral damage to children as a result of system changes, SARS-CoV-2 appears to rarely cause serious illness in younger age groups. However, the emergence of an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 has complicated initial assessment. We present a summary of how the virus has affected children with a synopsis of testing and treatment to help acute paediatricians make informed decisions.

  • virology
  • epidemiology

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Data availability statement

Data are available upon request

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Footnotes

  • Twitter @damian_roland

  • Contributors CP conceived the original idea and wrote the initial draft. Both authors contributed to subsequent revisions and agreed a final draft.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.