A retrospective analysis of medication in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan, China

Abstract:

Objective To study the medication in children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Wuhan, China, and to provide a reference for rational drug use in clinical practice. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of the children who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection from January 26 to March 5, 2020. The children were divided into an asymptomatic group with 41 children and a symptomatic group with 73 children. A subgroup analysis was performed to investigate the effect of different antiviral regimens (monotherapy, double therapy, or triple therapy) and whether interferon α-1b was used in combination with azithromycin on the length of hospital stay and the clearance time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid. Results A total of 114 children with SARS-CoV-2 infection (72 boys and 42 girls) were enrolled. The median age of the children was 7.1 years. The median length of hospital stay was 10 days and the clearance time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid was 6 days. In either group, the subgroup analysis showed no significance differences in the length of hospital stay and the clearance time of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid between the subgroups treated with different combinations of antiviral drugs and the subgroups treated with interferon α-1b alone or in combination with azithromycin (P > 0.05). Conclusions It is not recommended to use the routine combinations of antiviral drugs for children with SARS-COV-2 infection or combine with azithromycin for the purpose of antiviral therapy.