Bernd Sebastian Kamps, Christian Hoffmann

Two studies have so far reported on SARS among children. In one study, persistent fever, cough, progressive chest radiograph changes and lymphopenia were noted in all 10 patients (Hon). Teenage patients presented with symptoms of malaise, myalgia, chill, and rigor similar to those seen in adults, whereas the younger children presented mainly with a cough and runny nose, and none had chills, rigor, or myalgia.

In the second study, fever was the presenting symptom in 19 of 21 children. Other prodromal symptoms reported included malaise, loss of appetite, chills, dizziness, and rhinorrhea. Headache, myalgia, diarrhea, sore throat, and skin rash were relatively uncommon (Chiu; Table 1). During the lower respiratory phase of the illness, approximately one half of the children had coughing, one third of which was productive. Dyspnea or tachypnea was uncommon (Chiu).

At presentation, all 21 children had normal hemoglobin values. The total white cell count was low in five children (23.8%). All neutrophil counts were normal. Twelve children (57.1%) had lymphopenia, and five (23.8%) had thrombocytopenia (Chiu). Subsequently, during the course of the disease, 19 children (90.5%) developed lymphopenia and ten of them (47.6%) had mild thrombocytopenia. All elevated activated partial thromboplastin time levels during the acute phase in six children (28.6%) subsequently returned to normal levels. D-dimer was abnormal in three children (14.3%). All children had normal renal function. Abnormal ALT levels were found in two children (9.5%) at admission. Mild biochemical hepatitis, defined as an elevation three times that of a normal ALT level with a normal bilirubin level, was observed in five children (23.8%). Fifteen children (71.4%) had a raised LDH level, and nine children (42.9%) had a raised CPK level (Chiu).

When comparing the 11 children below 12 years with the ten children 12 years and older, the older group had less cough. However, these children had higher temperatures, a longer duration of fever, and more constitutional upset in terms of malaise and dizziness. They had more derangement in laboratory variables, including platelet counts, ALT, LDH, and CPK. All of them received steroid treatment. The changes in their chest radiographs took a longer time to resolve (Chiu).