A group of scientists from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine investigated the risk factors for the severe course of coronavirus infection in children. Experts have found 11 signs that indicate a high probability of the transition of COVID-19 to a severe form. The most obvious manifestation of future problems was shortness of breath, which occurs with complications twice as often as other symptoms. They also clearly indicate the danger of deviations from the norm on a chest x-ray and a runny nose. Based on the data obtained, scientists have created a mathematical model that calculates the risks of an unfavorable development of the disease.
Scientists studied data on the development of coronavirus infection in 203 children. 26 of them were asymptomatic, 160 were mild, 15 were severe. Comparing the information about the symptoms in each of the groups, doctors came to the conclusion that the presence of concomitant diseases, fever, high temperature, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abnormalities on chest x-ray and computed tomography of the lungs can be called warning signs in the development of COVID-19. , deviations from the norm in the concentration of C-reactive protein (a blood plasma protein, the concentration of which increases during inflammatory processes) and the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (an increased indicator indicates the destruction of body tissues in various diseases, including problems with the lungs)
Within the framework of the model, each of the signs was assigned a certain number of points, depending on its connection with the course of the disease. The higher it is, the more points are assigned to the symptom.
For example, a 9-year-old child (5 points) with concomitant diseases (11 points), cough (5 points), shortness of breath (92 points), a C-reactive protein concentration of 30 mg / ml (45 points) and lactate dehydrogenase 200 mg / ml (8 points) has a more than 99% chance of surviving severe COVID-19.
Read more in the exclusive material from Izvestia:
Not childish: shortness of breath turned out to be the main symptom of severe COVID-19 in a child