"Radiologic Analysis of CT Imaging Patterns and Clinical Correlations in hospitalized Pediatric COVID-19 Patients"

Mehrnoosh Aghabeygiha ¹ Seyed Alireza Fahimzad ¹ Farzad Sheikhzadeh ² Rasoul Hossein Zadeh ³ Yasaman Tamaddon ⁴ Mahmoud Hajipour ^5* Ali Neyriz ⁶ Neda Pak ⁷ Armin Shirvani ⁵ Amirhossein Hosseini ^5* Mitra Khalili ⁸

• ¹ Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Alborz, Iran
• ² Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Alborz, Iran
• ³ Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
• ⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
• ⁵ Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Research Center, Research Institute for Children's Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Tehran, Iran
• ⁶ Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Qazvin, Iran
• ⁷ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Childrens Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Tehran, Alborz, Iran
• ⁸ Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Alborz, Iran

Background and Objective: COVID-19 has emerged as a global pandemic affecting individuals of all ages. The disease can lead to severe complications and even death, particularly due to pulmonary involvement. Contrary to popular belief, children can also experience significant complications from COVID-19. To date, there have been limited studies focusing on pulmonary manifestations in pediatric patients with COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the imaging patterns (CT scans) in children diagnosed with COVID-19 in Iran.Materials & Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from hospitalized children with COVID-19 in Tehran from March 2020 to September 2020. Information collected included demographic details (sex and age), previous medical history, clinical manifestations, vital signs at admission, laboratory findings, and imaging results, including CT scan and chest x-ray.Results: A total of 252 patients were included, with a mean age of 71.2 ± 59.42 months; 58.3% were male. Fever was the most prevalent symptom, occurring in 67.4% of cases. The most common underlying condition was oncological disorders, present in 85% of patients. Notably, 52% required admission to the ICU, and 1.8% needed intubation. CT scans revealed that the most frequent lung involvement patterns were mixed patterns and consolidation, with bilateral involvement being the most common. The mean CT score was calculated at 3 ± 4. Abnormal CT findings were associated with a poorer prognosis, and correlations were observed between certain specific CT findings and clinical manifestations.Conclusion: Chest CT manifestations offer valuable insights for assessing pediatric patients with COVID-19, especially in severe cases and those with pre-existing health conditions. Integrating clinical evaluations with radiological scoring systems facilitates early identification of disease severity.