Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36919119›Full record

ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia2023

Clinical and epidemiological features of pediatric population hospitalized with COVID-19: a multicenter longitudinal study (March 2020-December 2021) from Pakistan.

Qalab Abbas, Farah Khalid, Fatima Farrukh Shahbaz, Javeria Khan, Shazia Mohsin, Murtaza Ali Gowa, Abdul Sattar Shaikh, Rai Muhammad Asghar, Javairia Khalid, Sehrish Karim and 3 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Unveiling the underside of COVID-19: a pediatric perspective from Pakistan.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Qalab AbbasAssistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Farah KhalidInstructor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Fatima Farrukh ShahbazMedical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Javeria KhanResearch Coordinator, Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Shazia MohsinAssociate Professor, Department of Cardiac Sciences, Sind Institute of Urology and Transplant, Karachi, Pakistan.
Murtaza Ali GowaAssistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Medicine, National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, Pakistan.
Abdul Sattar ShaikhAssociate Professor, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rai Muhammad AsgharProfessor, Department of Pediatrics, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Javairia KhalidLecturer, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sehrish KarimResearch Coordinator, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Fyezah JehanAssociate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Masood SadiqProfessor and Dean, University of Child Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
Junaid RashidProfessor, Department of Pediatric Medicine, University of Child Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
Aga Khan University · PKUniversity of Health Sciences Lahore · PKNational Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases · PKNational Institute of Child Health · PKRawalpindi Medical University · PKSindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation · PK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: We aimed to explore the epidemiological, clinical, and phenotypic parameters of pediatric patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pakistan. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study was conducted in five tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan from March 2020 to December 2021. Data on various epidemiological and clinical variables were collected using Case Report Forms (CRFs) adapted from the WHO COVID-19 clinical data platform at baseline and at monthly follow-ups for 3 months. Findings: A total of 1090 children were included. The median age was 5 years (Interquartile range 1-10), and the majority presented due to new signs/symptoms associated with COVID-19 (57.8%; n = 631), the most common being general and respiratory symptoms. Comorbidities were present in 417 (38.3%) children. Acute COVID-19 alone was found in 932 (85.5%) children, 81 (7.4%) had multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), 77 (7.0%) had overlapping features of acute COVID-19 and MIS-C, and severe disease was found in 775/1086 (71.4%). Steroids were given to 351 (32.2%) patients while 77 (7.1%) children received intravenous immunoglobulins. Intensive care unit (ICU) care was required in 334 (31.6%) patients, and 203 (18.3%) deaths were reported during the study period. The largest spike in cases and mortality was from July to September 2021 when the Delta variant first emerged. During the first and second follow-ups, 37 and 10 children expired respectively, and medical care after discharge was required in 204 (25.4%), 94 (16.6%), and 70 (13.7%) children respectively during each monthly follow-up. Interpretation: Our study highlights that acute COVID-19 was the major phenotype associated with high severity and mortality in children in Pakistan in contrast to what has been observed globally. Funding: The study was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), which was involved in the study design but played no role in its analysis, writeup, or publication.

Indexed as

EpidemiologyPakistanPediatric COVID-19SARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID36919119
PMCPMC9981526
OpenAlexW4323045817

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.