Pediatric long-COVID: an overlooked phenomenon?
Open accessAbstract
Background: Long‐COVID is a well‐documented multisystem disease in adults. Far less is known about long‐term sequelae of COVID in children. Here, we report on the occurrence of long‐COVID in Dutch children. Patients and Methods: We conducted a national survey asking Dutch pediatricians to share their experiences on long‐COVID in children. We furthermore describe a case series of six children with long‐COVID to explore the clinical features in greater detail. Results: With a response rate of 78% of Dutch pediatric departments, we identified 89 children, aged 2–18 years, suspected of long‐COVID with various complaints. Of these children, 36% experienced severe limitations in daily function. The most common complaints were fatigue, dyspnea, and concentration difficulties with 87%, 55%, and 45% respectively. Our case series emphasizes the nonspecific and broad clinical manifestations seen in post‐COVID complaints. Conclusion: Our study shows that long‐COVID is also present in the pediatric population. The main symptoms resemble those previously described in adults. This novel condition demands a multidisciplinary approach with international awareness and consensus to aid early detection and effective management.
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Long COVID syndrome and its mechanisms are still poorly understood, and it affects people regardless of COVID-19 severity, including younger adults, children, and non-hospitalised people.
“This syndrome and its underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood, as it affects people regardless of the severity of their COVID-19 infection, including younger adults, children, and those who were not hospitalised.”
From The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) · cites this paper as [340]
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The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic
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- Authors
- Brackel, C. L. H., Lap, C. R., Buddingh, E. P., van Houten, M. A., van der Sande, L. J. T. M., Langereis, E. J., Bannier, M. A. G. E., Pijnenburg, M. W. H., Hashimoto, S., & Terheggen‐Lagro, S. W. J.
- Affiliations
- Emma Kinderziekenhuis (NL)
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL)
- Leiden University Medical Center (NL)
- Department of Pediatrics Spaarne Gasthuis Hoofddorp the Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics Catharina Hospital Eindhoven the Netherlands
- Maastricht University Medical Centre (NL)
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergology, Erasmus University Medical Center Sophia Children's Hospital Rotterdam the Netherlands
- Corresponding author
- Brackel, Caroline L. H.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-06-08
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 2495-2502
- ISSN
- 1099-0496 (ISSN-L)
- 8755-6863
- PMC
- PMC8242715
- OpenAlex
- W3168051520
- Cited by
- 163
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 22
- FWCI
- 15.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Pediatric Pulmonology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- long COVID, pediatric long COVID, children, fatigue, dyspnea, concentration difficulties, clinical features, multidisciplinary management
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, Adult, Child, Dyspnea, Fatigue, Humans
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