Clinical and epidemiological significance of diarrhea in children with COVID-19

Authors / Institutions

Liudmila N. Mazankova / Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation

Sergey G. Gorbunov / Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation

Elmira R. Samitova / Z.A.Bashlyayeva Children's City Clinical Hospital of the Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russian Federation / Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation

Ismail M. Osmanov / N.I.Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation

Vasiliy G. Akimkin / Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation

Antonina A. Ploskireva / Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation

Alexander N. Os’kin / Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation

Andrey A. Mishkin / Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation

Objective. To show the clinical and epidemiological significance of diarrhea and SARS-CoV-2 excretion in the feces of COVID-19 patients in children.
Patients and methods. 42 case histories of children with COVID-19 hospitalized and examined by PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in nasal and oropharyngeal swabs, as well as in feces were ana-lyzed. Design: retrospective analysis of patient medical records. 
Results. It was shown that watery diarrhea was observed in 2.4% of children with verified COVID-19, vomiting and abdominal pain – in 4.8%. In the blood test, lymphocytosis prevailed. In all the examined patients, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected not only in nasal and oropharyngeal swabs, but also in feces, while in 4.8% of children, the virus was excreted in feces for a longer time than in the respiratory tract. In the epidemiological history of 100% of patients, there was no indication of contact with a patient with acute diarrhea.
Conclusion. These facts indicate that, despite the infrequently registered diarrhea in COVID-19 in childhood, the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the feces of a significant number of such patients may have important clinical and epidemiological significance, contributing to the fecaloral transmission of this infection, which requires additional study due to the small number and incon-sistency of currently known data.
Key words: diarrhea, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, children
For citation: Mazankovа L.N., Gorbunov S.G., Samitova E.R., Osmanov I.M., Akimkin V.G., Ploskireva A.A., Os’kin А.N., Mishkin A.A. Clinical and epidemiological significance of diarrhea in children with COVID-19. Infekc. bolezni (Infectious diseases). 2021; 19(3): 30–36. (In Russian). DOI: 10.20953/1729-9225-2021-3-30-36