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DrGreene Content
What’s the latest on SARS and children? Some viral infections, such as the flu, strike harder in young children than they do in older children or in healthy adults. Other viral infections, such as chickenpox, are usually minor illnesses in kids, but more serious in adults. SARS may be easier on children than on adults, according to two very small studies in the October 2003, online version of Pediatrics. The first study looked at 10 children with probable SARS in the Toronto area, from infants to teens. They all sounded pretty miserable from the description, but all recovered well, and only one required supplemental oxygen. The other study looked at the youngest SARS patient to date, a 56-day old premature infant who had been born in Hong Kong after 30 weeks gestation. This boy became critically ill with the virus, and was treated in a pediatric intensive care unit. He had severe respiratory distress, and was bleeding into his stools. He required tube feedings, supplemental oxygen, and mechanical help to breathe. He was finally discharged from the intensive care unit after 24 days of illness – but it was striking that as sick as this little boy became, he recovered fully. No one knows whether another SARS epidemic is on the way, but now that the dust has settled from round 1, the story looks cautiously hopeful for children if round 2 arrives. When new infections strike it’s wise to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.
More infomation on SARS:
SARS Update
SARS Hotel
SARS Kids
Stop Respiratory Infections
SARS – School's Out
Preventing SARS
SARS and Allergies
Disease - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Asthma and SARS
SARS Unmasked
Alan Greene MD FAAP
Originally published: October 07, 2003
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