Gastrointestinal features in children with COVID-19: an observation of varied presentation in eight children
Lucinda Tullie
Kathryn Ford
May Bisharat
Tom Watson
Hemanshoo Thakkar
Dhanya Mullassery
et al.
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Published:May 19, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30165-6
We report eight children with COVID-19 presenting at a single centre in the UK with symptoms of atypical appendicitis before rapid deterioration requiring hospitalisation and, in some cases, intensive care support. All children had imaging confirming terminal ileitis and no surgical intervention was required at the time of writing. We draw attention to an unusual presentation of COVID-19 in children and adolescents and we recommend abdominal imaging when investigating for possible appendicitis.
There have been 4?730?968 confirmed cases and 315?488 deaths from COVID-19 worldwide since emergence of the infection in December, 2019, in Wuhan, China.1 To date, most of the case load and mortality has been seen in the adult population. Currently in the UK, there is concern regarding an inflammatory syndrome related to COVID-19 in children with gastrointestinal symptoms in the presence of both positive and negative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) PCR tests.2, 3
