Material and Methods
This study included 105 pediatric patients between the ages of 0-18 years, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Dicle University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric which is the main center for management of pediatric Covid-19 patients in southeastern Turkey, between April 2020 and June 2020. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was made by the method of real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in samples obtained with nasopharyngeal swab. During the diagnosis, BUN, creatinine, Alanine amino transferase (ALT), Aspartate amino transferase (AST), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), serum electrolytes, Prothrombin time (PT), Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), International normalized ratio (INR), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, troponin I, CK-MB and D-Dimer were studied in all patients. Posterior-anterior (PA) chest radiography was performed in every patient included in the study and in cases of pathological findings on radiography or clinically severe cases. The data that include patient demographics, laboratory and clinical results, and the previous treatments of the patients were retrospectively taken from patient files and computer-based patient records.
The severity of the disease was classified as asymptomatic, mild, moderate, severe, and critical according to the clinical characteristic, laboratory results, and chest radiography findings (18).
The patients were divided into three age groups and the data were compared. These groups were as follows: Group 1, patients aged 0 to 1 year (0-12 months); Group 2, patients aged 1 to 10 years (13-120 months); Group 3, patients aged 10 to 18 years (130-216 months).
Patients over 18 years of age and suspected of having COVID-19 with clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings, but with negative RT-PCR test results were excluded from the study.
The approval was taken from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health and the Ethics Committee of Dicle University, Faculty of Medicine.