Study compares clinical features of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza in children

As the fall approaches, pediatric hospitals will start seeing children with seasonal influenza A and B. At the same time, COVID-19 will be co-circulating in communities with the flu and other respiratory viruses, making it more difficult to identify and prevent the novel coronavirus. With little published data directly comparing the clinical features of children with COVID-19 to those with seasonal flu, researchers at Children's National Hospital decided to conduct a retrospective cohort study of patients in the two groups. The study showed no statistically significant differences in the rates of hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit and mechanical ventilator use between the two groups.