Nearly 75 percent of children diagnosed with COVID-19 did not have any of the typical symptoms adults displayed, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
Researchers used data from a national database to conduct a retrospective analysis of 12,306 pediatric patients with a confirmed COVID-19 case across 33 U.S. healthcare organizations.
Findings showed only 25.1 percent of children had at least one typical symptom, while 9.9 percent had at least two typical symptoms, according to the study published May 13.
At the same time, 18.8 percent of the study population had other nonspecific symptoms, such as myalgia or muscle pain, general malaise or loss of taste and smell.
Overall, 16.5 percent of children experienced respiratory symptoms, 13.9 percent had gastrointestinal symptoms, 8.1 percent had dermatological symptoms and nearly 5 percent had a headache.
A total of 672 children were hospitalized, of which 17.6 percent required intensive care. Fever, respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms were more prevalent in the hospitalized population, researchers said.
"Given the high prevalence of non-specific signs and symptoms and the fact that the majority of the patients lacked typical symptoms in our investigation, increased vigilance, innovative screening, and frequent testing is required among school-going children and their immediate contacts," researchers said. "Routine screening tools and procedures such as daily temperature checks in school may be less effective."
To view the full report, click here.