9 de junio de 2020
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV2, disproportionally affects adults (children <5% in most reports)1. Adult critical illness is characterized by acute hypoxemia, multi-organ failure, and high mortality2, 3. Reported risk factors for severe illness include age, cardiorespiratory comorbidities, obesity, and laboratory findings (lymphopenia and elevated D-dimer)2, 4. Pediatric reports describe low infection rates and infrequent pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission5, 6. The largest PICU report consists of 48 North American children7. It describes treatments and outcomes but not with adequate granularity to understand critical pediatric COVID-19. The CAKE (Critical Coronavirus And Kids Epidemiologic) Study was designed to specifically investigate severe cases and provide detailed data. It involves over 60 centers in nearly 20 countries from the Americas and Europe. This report provides preliminary insights into our first 17 patients.
