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Research Article: Persistent symptoms and conditions among children and adolescents hospitalised with COVID-19 illness: a qualitative study

Date Published: 2023-09-21

Abstract:
Objectives There is limited in-depth research exploring persistent symptoms and conditions among children and adolescents who contracted COVID-19 illness that required hospitalisation. The main objective of this study was to conduct qualitative interviews among families who had a child hospitalised with COVID-19 illness to elucidate their child’s physical, mental and social health outcomes months after initial acute infection. Design, setting and participants A qualitative study that composed of in-depth interviews among families with a child hospitalised with COVID-19 illness in one large urban US paediatric healthcare system. Parents (N=25) were recruited from an ongoing quantitative study to estimate the prevalence of long COVID in children hospitalised with COVID-19 illness. During in-depth interviews, parents were invited to describe their child’s post-COVID-19 symptoms and experiences. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and coded in NVivo. Results Seven themes were identified concerning the child’s prolonged COVID-19 experiences: (1) post-traumatic stress disorder, (2) social anxiety, (3) severe symptoms on reinfection, (4) worsened pre-existing conditions, (5) lack of insurance coverage for costly treatments, (6) access and utilisation of support systems and (7) overall resilience and recovery. Four parent-specific themes were identified: (1) fear of COVID-19 unknowns, (2) mixed messaging from health information sources, (3) schools being both a support system and a hindrance and (4) desire for and access to support systems. Conclusions A subset of children who were hospitalised with COVID-19 illness are experiencing a range of serious mental health impacts related to persistent COVID-19 symptoms. Clinical and public health support strategies should be developed to support these children and their families as they reintegrate in school, social and community activities.

Introduction:
As of 15 September 2022, there have been almost 14.7 million documented COVID-19 cases in the US paediatric population. 1 Data show that the majority of COVID-19 cases in children and adolescents are asymptomatic and do not typically require hospitalisation. 1 However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 1200 children and adolescents through age 18 years have died from COVID-19 illness. 2 A small proportion of children with COVID-19 illness are at risk for developing a novel…

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