Assessing the clinical characteristics and management of COVID-19 among pediatric patients in Ghana : findings and implications

Abstract

There is an increasing focus across countries on researching the management of children admitted to hospital with COVID-19. This stems from an increasing prevalence due to new variants, combined with concerns with the overuse of antimicrobials driving up resistance rates. Standard treatment guidelines (STGs) have been produced in Ghana to improve their care. Consequently, there is a need to document the clinical characteristics of children diagnosed and admitted with COVID-19 to our hospital in Ghana, factors influencing compliance to the STG and treatment outcomes. In all, 201 patients were surveyed between March 2020 and December 2021, with males accounting for 51.7% of surveyed children. Those aged between 6 and 10 years were the largest group (44.8%). Nasal congestion and fever were some of the commonest presenting complaints, while pneumonia was the commonest (80.6%) COVID-19 complication. In all, 80.0% of all admissions were discharged with no untreated complications, with a 10.9% mortality rate. A combination of azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine (41.29%) was the most prescribed antimicrobial regimen. Compliance to the STG was variable (68.2% compliance). Increased compliance was associated with a sore throat as a presenting symptom. Mortality increased following transfer to the ICU. However, current recommendations to prescribe antimicrobials without demonstrable bacterial or fungal infections needs changing to reduce future resistance. These are areas to address in the future.