1084. Comparison of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infections During Spring 2020 and Spring 2021


 
 
 Data is lacking regarding the clinical manifestations of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection during Spring 2021 and how that clinical presentation compares to children who presented during the early months of the pandemic. We sought to compare the presentation and severity of illness among children with a positive PCR test result for SARS-CoV-2 who presented during the Spring 2020 to those who presented for testing during Spring 2021.
 
 
 
 We identified all patients < 18 years old who had a positive nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result for SARS-CoV-2 from 4/1/2020-6/30/2020 and from 4/1/2021-6/30/2021 through a laboratory-based database at a rural academic tertiary care medical center. Data collected included demographics; underlying medical comorbidities; symptoms at the time of SARS-CoV-2 testing; results of SARS-CoV-2 testing and other tests performed at the same time; treatments administered; imaging studies performed; need for hospitalization; and, for those requiring hospitalization, hospital length of stay, and respiratory support. We excluded patients who were hospitalized for reasons other than COVID-19 infection in our hospitalization statistics.
 
 
 
 We identified 331 children with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR result who met our inclusion criteria. Among children presenting during the Spring 2021 time period, upper respiratory tract infection (URI) symptoms were much less common than those presenting in Spring 2020 (2% vs 19%, p< 0.001). Additionally, fever and cough were more common among children presenting in Spring 2021 (34% vs 22%, p=0.01) (Table 1). Hospitalization for COVID-19 care occurred in 4% of children overall: 3% of children during the Spring 2020 era and 5% of children during Spring 2021, P=0.587 (Table 2).
 Self-reported symptoms among children with a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test, Spring 2020 vs. Spring 2021.
 Association of year, patient, and clinical characteristics with hospital admission for care of COVID-19.
 
 
 
 Our study offers insights into the differences in the clinical presentation and outcomes of pediatric patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 during Spring 2020 and Spring 2021, respectively. We found that children infected during Spring 2021 had fever and cough more often and rhinorrhea and nasal congestion less often than children infected during the Spring 2020. Hospitalization was uncommon and was similar in both time periods. Most children requiring hospital admission had an underlying medical comorbidity.
 
 
 
 Jessica E. Ericson, MD, MPH, Abbvie: Advisor/Consultant.
