The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan

Tomohiro Katsuta; Naoki Shimizu; Kenji Okada; Keiko Tanaka-Taya; Takashi Nakano; Hajime Kamiya; Kiyoko Amo; Naruhiko Ishiwada; Satoshi Iwata; Makoto Oshiro; Nobuhiko Okabe; Ryutaro Kira; Seigo Korematsu; Shigeru Suga; Takeshi Tsugawa; Naoko Nishimura; Haruka Hishiki; Masashi Fujioka; Mitsuaki Hosoya; Yumi Mizuno; Mahito Mine; Isao Miyairi; Chiaki Miyazaki; Ichiro Morioka; Tsuneo Morishima; Tetsushi Yoshikawa; Taizo Wada; Hiroshi Azuma; Koichi Kusuhara; Kazunobu Ouchi; Akihiko Saitoh; Hiroyuki Moriuchi

doi:10.1111/ped.14912

The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan

Tomohiro Katsuta, Naoki Shimizu, Kenji Okada, Keiko Tanaka-Taya, Takashi Nakano, Hajime Kamiya, Kiyoko Amo, Naruhiko Ishiwada, Satoshi Iwata, Makoto Oshiro, Nobuhiko Okabe, Ryutaro Kira, Seigo Korematsu, Shigeru Suga, Takeshi Tsugawa, Naoko Nishimura, Haruka Hishiki, Masashi Fujioka, Mitsuaki Hosoya, Yumi MizunoMahito Mine, Isao Miyairi, Chiaki Miyazaki, Ichiro Morioka, Tsuneo Morishima, Tetsushi Yoshikawa, Taizo Wada, Hiroshi Azuma, Koichi Kusuhara, Kazunobu Ouchi, Akihiko Saitoh, Hiroyuki Moriuchi

Pediatrics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people of all ages. Most reports on pediatric cases suggest that children experience fewer and milder symptoms than do adults. This is the first nationwide study in Japan focusing on pediatric cases reported by pediatricians, including cases with no or mild symptoms. Methods: We analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and transmission patterns of 840 pediatric (<16 years old) COVID-19 cases reported between February and December 2020 in Japan, using a dedicated database which was maintained voluntarily by members of the Japan Pediatric Society. Results: Almost half of the patients (47.7%) were asymptomatic, while most of the others presented mild symptoms. At the time of admission or first outpatient clinic visit, 84.0% of the cases were afebrile (<37.5°C). In total, 609 cases (72.5%) were exposed to COVID-19-positive household members. We analyzed the influence of nationwide school closures that were introduced in March 2020 on COVID-19 transmission routes among children in Japan. Transmission within households occurred most frequently, with no significant difference between the periods before and after declaring nationwide school closures (70.9% and 74.5%, respectively). Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms in children are less severe than those in adults. School closure appeared to have a limited effect on transmission. Controlling household transmission from adult family members is the most important measure for prevention of COVID-19 among children.

Original language	English
Article number	e14912
Journal	Pediatrics International
Volume	64
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.14912
Publication status	Published - 01-01-2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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10.1111/ped.14912

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Katsuta, T., Shimizu, N., Okada, K., Tanaka-Taya, K., Nakano, T., Kamiya, H., Amo, K., Ishiwada, N., Iwata, S., Oshiro, M., Okabe, N., Kira, R., Korematsu, S., Suga, S., Tsugawa, T., Nishimura, N., Hishiki, H., Fujioka, M., Hosoya, M., ... Moriuchi, H. (2022). The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan. Pediatrics International, 64(1), Article e14912. https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.14912

@article{1ad0ae3220db4469916ec9d8a9d36362,

title = "The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan",

abstract = "Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people of all ages. Most reports on pediatric cases suggest that children experience fewer and milder symptoms than do adults. This is the first nationwide study in Japan focusing on pediatric cases reported by pediatricians, including cases with no or mild symptoms. Methods: We analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and transmission patterns of 840 pediatric (<16 years old) COVID-19 cases reported between February and December 2020 in Japan, using a dedicated database which was maintained voluntarily by members of the Japan Pediatric Society. Results: Almost half of the patients (47.7%) were asymptomatic, while most of the others presented mild symptoms. At the time of admission or first outpatient clinic visit, 84.0% of the cases were afebrile (<37.5°C). In total, 609 cases (72.5%) were exposed to COVID-19-positive household members. We analyzed the influence of nationwide school closures that were introduced in March 2020 on COVID-19 transmission routes among children in Japan. Transmission within households occurred most frequently, with no significant difference between the periods before and after declaring nationwide school closures (70.9% and 74.5%, respectively). Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms in children are less severe than those in adults. School closure appeared to have a limited effect on transmission. Controlling household transmission from adult family members is the most important measure for prevention of COVID-19 among children.",

author = "Tomohiro Katsuta and Naoki Shimizu and Kenji Okada and Keiko Tanaka-Taya and Takashi Nakano and Hajime Kamiya and Kiyoko Amo and Naruhiko Ishiwada and Satoshi Iwata and Makoto Oshiro and Nobuhiko Okabe and Ryutaro Kira and Seigo Korematsu and Shigeru Suga and Takeshi Tsugawa and Naoko Nishimura and Haruka Hishiki and Masashi Fujioka and Mitsuaki Hosoya and Yumi Mizuno and Mahito Mine and Isao Miyairi and Chiaki Miyazaki and Ichiro Morioka and Tsuneo Morishima and Tetsushi Yoshikawa and Taizo Wada and Hiroshi Azuma and Koichi Kusuhara and Kazunobu Ouchi and Akihiko Saitoh and Hiroyuki Moriuchi",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Japan Pediatric Society.",

year = "2022",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1111/ped.14912",

language = "English",

volume = "64",

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Katsuta, T, Shimizu, N, Okada, K, Tanaka-Taya, K, Nakano, T, Kamiya, H, Amo, K, Ishiwada, N, Iwata, S, Oshiro, M, Okabe, N, Kira, R, Korematsu, S, Suga, S, Tsugawa, T, Nishimura, N, Hishiki, H, Fujioka, M, Hosoya, M, Mizuno, Y, Mine, M, Miyairi, I, Miyazaki, C, Morioka, I, Morishima, T, Yoshikawa, T, Wada, T, Azuma, H, Kusuhara, K, Ouchi, K, Saitoh, A & Moriuchi, H 2022, 'The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan', Pediatrics International, vol. 64, no. 1, e14912. https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.14912

TY - JOUR

T1 - The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan

AU - Katsuta, Tomohiro

AU - Shimizu, Naoki

AU - Okada, Kenji

AU - Tanaka-Taya, Keiko

AU - Nakano, Takashi

AU - Kamiya, Hajime

AU - Amo, Kiyoko

AU - Ishiwada, Naruhiko

AU - Iwata, Satoshi

AU - Oshiro, Makoto

AU - Okabe, Nobuhiko

AU - Kira, Ryutaro

AU - Korematsu, Seigo

AU - Suga, Shigeru

AU - Tsugawa, Takeshi

AU - Nishimura, Naoko

AU - Hishiki, Haruka

AU - Fujioka, Masashi

AU - Hosoya, Mitsuaki

AU - Mizuno, Yumi

AU - Mine, Mahito

AU - Miyairi, Isao

AU - Miyazaki, Chiaki

AU - Morioka, Ichiro

AU - Morishima, Tsuneo

AU - Yoshikawa, Tetsushi

AU - Wada, Taizo

AU - Azuma, Hiroshi

AU - Kusuhara, Koichi

AU - Ouchi, Kazunobu

AU - Saitoh, Akihiko

AU - Moriuchi, Hiroyuki

PY - 2022/1/1

Y1 - 2022/1/1

N2 - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people of all ages. Most reports on pediatric cases suggest that children experience fewer and milder symptoms than do adults. This is the first nationwide study in Japan focusing on pediatric cases reported by pediatricians, including cases with no or mild symptoms. Methods: We analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and transmission patterns of 840 pediatric (<16 years old) COVID-19 cases reported between February and December 2020 in Japan, using a dedicated database which was maintained voluntarily by members of the Japan Pediatric Society. Results: Almost half of the patients (47.7%) were asymptomatic, while most of the others presented mild symptoms. At the time of admission or first outpatient clinic visit, 84.0% of the cases were afebrile (<37.5°C). In total, 609 cases (72.5%) were exposed to COVID-19-positive household members. We analyzed the influence of nationwide school closures that were introduced in March 2020 on COVID-19 transmission routes among children in Japan. Transmission within households occurred most frequently, with no significant difference between the periods before and after declaring nationwide school closures (70.9% and 74.5%, respectively). Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms in children are less severe than those in adults. School closure appeared to have a limited effect on transmission. Controlling household transmission from adult family members is the most important measure for prevention of COVID-19 among children.

AB - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people of all ages. Most reports on pediatric cases suggest that children experience fewer and milder symptoms than do adults. This is the first nationwide study in Japan focusing on pediatric cases reported by pediatricians, including cases with no or mild symptoms. Methods: We analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and transmission patterns of 840 pediatric (<16 years old) COVID-19 cases reported between February and December 2020 in Japan, using a dedicated database which was maintained voluntarily by members of the Japan Pediatric Society. Results: Almost half of the patients (47.7%) were asymptomatic, while most of the others presented mild symptoms. At the time of admission or first outpatient clinic visit, 84.0% of the cases were afebrile (<37.5°C). In total, 609 cases (72.5%) were exposed to COVID-19-positive household members. We analyzed the influence of nationwide school closures that were introduced in March 2020 on COVID-19 transmission routes among children in Japan. Transmission within households occurred most frequently, with no significant difference between the periods before and after declaring nationwide school closures (70.9% and 74.5%, respectively). Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms in children are less severe than those in adults. School closure appeared to have a limited effect on transmission. Controlling household transmission from adult family members is the most important measure for prevention of COVID-19 among children.

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U2 - 10.1111/ped.14912

DO - 10.1111/ped.14912

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VL - 64

JO - Pediatrics International

JF - Pediatrics International

IS - 1

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ER -

The clinical characteristics of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 in 2020 in Japan

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