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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
April 21, 2022
Are children the forgotten ones of the pandemic? In a recent study, experts point to the lack of serious diagnoses in young patients with long Covid.
Children also suffer the consequences of the long Covid, but the lack of data about them confuses the issue. Difficult to assess, for example, what proportion of children infected with the virus still show symptoms on D30, D40, D60…
By Covid long, experts mean “a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, which consists of experiencing at least one physical symptom that persists for more than 12 weeks after infection and that cannot be explained by another diagnosis”. This definition, issued on February 7 by a panel of 120 experts, specifies that these symptoms have an impact on the child’s daily life and can fluctuate over time.
Long Covid in children: research in the dark
While the long forms of Covid-19 in children seem rarer than those in adults, a new analysis published on MedrXiv has turned the few rare data on this subject upside down. She points in particular to the lack of tangible evidence concerning this syndrome in children.
To reach these conclusions, the team from the University of Basel in Switzerland analyzed 21 studies on long Covid – only 6 of which used a controlled design – with 81,896 children followed for 2 to 11.5 months.
The results of this meta-analysis show that around fifteen studies had no control group (non-sick children) with which to compare those with long Covid. Without this double analysis, the study loses scientific credibility.
“Without a control group, no sensible interpretation seems possible“, says the study.
Moreover, “the validity of health outcomes reported after SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is extremely limited. None of the studies provided evidence with reasonable certainty about whether infection with the virus impacts post-acute health outcomes, let alone to what extent. Children and their families urgently need much more reliable and methodologically sound evidence to address their concerns and improve care.”can we read.
A major problem around the long Covid, confirmed by Dr Kierzek:
“In France, we have no diagnostic criteria. Result: we do not know how to detect a long Covid than a simple Covid and, as a bonus, the subjective symptoms (headache, pain) are similar to those of other diseases, such as fibromyalgia, Lyme disease… For children, it’s the same thing”.
The solution ? “Carry out a differential diagnosis in order to determine whether the patient – child or adult – is indeed suffering from Covid-long”adds the doctor.
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Treatment of the long Covid: the Senate and the Assembly make recommendations
On April 13, the parliamentary office for scientific and technological choices published a report on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It provides an overview of the strategy adopted and lists several recommendations.
Firstly, the deputies and senators recall the difficulties encountered in establishing “a concrete definition of long Covid” and by extension the ways to deal with it.
The other issue highlighted is “the unequal care of patients suffering from long Covid”.
Indeed, on the territory, the High Authority for Health has retained “a period of one month after infection, beyond which it is necessary to carry out investigations in order to eliminate the possibility of other etiologies and to be able to take charge of patients quickly”.
However, there is no exonerating long-term condition (ALD) (conditions whose severity and/or chronic nature require prolonged treatment and particularly expensive treatment) specific for coronavirus. However, this setting up of a long-term condition would make it possible to fully reimburse the care.
To remedy these problems, the Parliamentary Office proposes four levers to improve the care of patients suffering from long Covid:
- the development of a more precise territorial network;
- strengthening the use of telemedicine and teleexpertise resources;
- the deployment of information around the long Covid;
- dedicated funding for long Covid research.