Toddler infected with Omikron shows new symptoms of croup

　　New croup symptoms found in toddler infected with Omikron

　　International war "epidemic" operation

　　Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, March 17 (intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin) The new coronavirus variant Omicron led to a surge in infections, and it also allowed scientists to discover an unprecedented complication of new coronary pneumonia in young children: croup .

Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital have found a spike in childhood croup patients during a surge in Omikron cases, according to a peer-reviewed report published today in the advance journal Pediatrics.

Most of the children with Covid-19 and croup were under the age of 2, and 72% of them were boys.

　　Croup, medically known as laryngotracheitis, is a common respiratory disease in infants and young children.

It is characterized by a distinctive barking cough and sometimes loud, high-pitched inhalations (called stridors).

It occurs when colds and other viral infections cause inflammation and swelling around the throat, windpipe, and bronchi.

In severe cases, it can lead to fatal respiratory depression.

　　Animal studies have found that, compared with earlier variants that primarily target the lower respiratory tract, the Ormicron variant "strength" primarily in the upper respiratory tract.

This may explain the surge in croup patients during the surge in Omicron cases.

　　The report describes 75 children who presented to the hospital emergency department with sore throat and COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and January 15, 2022.

The researchers found that some cases were "surprisingly severe" and required hospitalization and higher drug doses than coughs caused by other viruses.

Meanwhile, slightly more than 80% of cases occurred during periods of transmission of the Omicron variant.

　　While no children died, nine of the 75 children with COVID-19-related croup required hospitalization, including four in intensive care.

By comparison, before the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer than 5 percent of children with croup were hospitalized, and only 1 to 3 percent of them required intubation.