Background and objectives Assessing the co-infections with COVID-19 is crucial to delineate its true clinical impact. Pediatric information in this aspect is limited. Our study aims to analyze the spectrum of co-infections in pediatric COVID-19 patients and determine the clinical as well as laboratory parameters predicting co-infection. Methodology In this prospective observational study conducted from June to December 2020 in a single tertiary care institution, data pertaining to demographic, illness and treatment-related variables were analyzed among two subsets of pediatric patients of age 1 month–12 years with RT–PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infection-Group A: those with confirmed co-infection and Group B: moderate to severe disease without co-infection. Among Group A, etiology of co-infection was characterized through relevant microbiological examination within 48 h admission. Result Among our study population, 15.03% and 20.6% had co-infections and moderate to severe disease respectively. Among those with confirmed co-infection, 32.5%, 11.6% and 6.97% recorded blood culture, respiratory secretion and CSF growth, respectively, the picture being dominated by Methicillin resistant and sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Serum serology demonstrated Scrub typhus infection to be most prevalent. Concurrent respiratory viral infections were seen in 11.6%. Children with co-infection had significantly higher morbidity and need for supportive therapy. Predictors of co-infection were localization of infection, Neutrophil count ≥10×109, age-specific lymphopenia, CRP > 100 mg/dl and hyperferritinemia. Conclusion Co-infections are an important factor prognosticating pediatric COVID infection. Their early detection, prompt and appropriate treatment is of paramount importance.

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COVID-19 和儿童合并感染：印度的观点

背景和目标 评估 COVID-19 的合并感染对于描述其真正的临床影响至关重要。这方面的儿科信息有限。我们的研究旨在分析儿科 COVID-19 患者的合并感染谱，并确定预测合并感染的临床和实验室参数。方法 在这项于 2020 年 6 月至 2020 年 12 月在一家三级医疗机构进行的前瞻性观察性研究中，对 1 个月至 12 岁的两个接受 RT-PCR-PCR-确诊的 COVID-19 感染 - A 组：确诊合并感染者和 B 组：未合并感染的中度至重度疾病。A组中，入院 48 小时内通过相关微生物学检查确定合并感染的病因。结果 在我们的研究人群中，分别有 15.03% 和 20.6% 有合并感染和中度至重度疾病。在确诊的合并感染者中，分别有 32.5%、11.6% 和 6.97% 的人记录了血培养、呼吸道分泌物和脑脊液生长，其中以耐甲氧西林和敏感的金黄色葡萄球菌为主。血清血清学显示恙虫病感染最为普遍。11.6% 的患者并发呼吸道病毒感染。合并感染儿童的发病率显着升高，需要支持治疗。合并感染的预测因素是感染定位、中性粒细胞计数≥10×109、年龄特异性淋巴细胞减少、CRP > 100 mg/dl 和高铁蛋白血症。结论 合并感染是预测小儿 COVID 感染的重要因素。他们的早期发现、及时和适当的治疗至关重要。