Atypical Covid-19-Associated Pneumonia in a Pediatric Patient

• Main Authors: Nicholson, Caitlin, Blankenship, Stephen B, MD, FAAEM
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2021
• Subjects: COVID-19; coronavirus; pediatric; Medicine
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2021/presentations/42

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) was declared to be a pandemic and a public health emergency by the World Health Organization in March of 2020. Researchers and medical professionals worldwide have been working nonstop to better understand the disease process of COVID-19 in order to refine treatment protocols and create effective immunizations. Within the pandemic, children make up a unique patient population as they have shown to have similar but less severe clinical features when compared with infected adults. Most pediatric cases of COVID-19 have been reported as asymptomatic or mild with only 8 per 100,000 in the US requiring hospitalization between March 1-July 25, 2020, approximately 576 patients. The case presented is of a 4-year-old Caucasian female with an atypical presentation of a COVID-19-associated pneumonia, with a review of her presentation to the hospital, treatment plan, and discharge. The current frequency of pediatric cases of COVID-19 with severe disease is low, and thus, not fully understood. This case provides an example of successful diagnosis and in-patient treatment, and broadens the scope of severe disease potential from COVID-19 in the pediatric population.