Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease, whose effects has been less investigated on children in Iran. This study aims to investigate the findings of lung CT scan and the factors affecting it in children with COVID-19 in Bandar Abbas, Iran. 
Methods This descriptive/analytical study was conducted on 73 children with COVID-19 confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test hospitalized in Children's Hospital in Bandar Abbas city in 2020. Their age and sex were extracted from their medical records and the CT scan images, ground-glass opacities, lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, collapse, peribronchial cuffing, and the involved side of lung were examined. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and independent t test.
Results Lung involvement was observed in 31.5% of children, of whom 60.9% had bilateral involvement. The most common finding was the ground-glass opacity (60.9%). The percentage of ground-glass opacities was significantly higher in girls than in boys (P=0.003). The age of children with pleural effusion was significantly higher than that of children without pleural effusion (P=0.034). Regarding other findings of CT scan, no significant relationship was observed with age, sex and side of lung involvement.
Conclusion There is lung involvement in about one third of children with COVID-19 in Bandar Abbas city. To predict the severity of the disease and prevent pulmonary complications, affected children should undergo a CT scan during hospitalization.

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Introduction: Attention to the epidemic of Covid-19 disease and the mortality caused by it and the variation in the clinical characteristics and symptoms of the disease, the changes observed in the course of the disease symptoms, the importance of early diagnosis and early treatment measures, the possibility of different clinical characteristics in the residents of southern Iran with special weather conditions, and the lack of similar studies in this population, we considered it. To carry out the present study with the aim of investigating the clinical characteristics of patients suffering from covid-19 who referred to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) Bandar Abbas Hospital in 2019.
Methods:   The present study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method on patients hospitalized in Bandar Abbas Hospital from June 1, 2019 to the end of August 2019. Then clinical symptoms, vital signs, laboratory findings, co-morbidities, duration of onset of symptoms, incidence of shortness of breath, current smoking and steroid use were also investigated. Then the severity of the disease was determined based on the guidelines for the treatment of patients with Covid-19 and finally the outcome of the disease (death or survival) was determined.
Results: The most common clinical symptoms were shortness of breath (57%), cough (46.9%), muscle pain (33.1%), weakness (28.5%), anorexia (28%). Headache (17.5%), nausea (15.1%), fever (14.6%) and vomiting (14.1%). The most common comorbidities were high blood pressure (31%), diabetes (21.9%) and coronary artery disease (16.2%), respectively. Multivariate regression analysis showed that severe disease increased the chance of death by 8.2 times (P=0.039) and vital system disease increased the chance of death by 7.5 times (P=0.024).
Conclusion:  As seen, the results of this study showed that shortness of breath, cough, and muscle pain were the most common clinical symptoms and hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease were the most common associated diseases in the examined patients. Almost one fifth of patients died. Severe and critical illness was recognized as the most important predictor of mortality and the presence of muscle pain as the most important predictor of severe or critical illness.