NDLI: Comparative analysis of croup severity and treatment in pediatric patient: a study of COVID-19 positive vs. negative cases during peak Omicron

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Pourjoula, Fatemeh Mirlohi, Seyed Hossein Ghanbari, Niloufar
Abstract	Background The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with unique clinical presentations in children, including croup-like symptoms such as barking cough, hoarseness, and respiratory distress. This study aimed to compare the clinical, laboratory, and treatment characteristics of hospitalized pediatric patients with croup who tested positive or negative for COVID-19 during the Omicron wave. Methods A retrospective, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 111 pediatric patients hospitalized with croup at Bahrami Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Medical Center in Iran from January 21 to March 20, 2022. Patients were categorized into two groups: PCR-positive (Omicron group, n = 30) and PCR-negative (non-Omicron group, n = 81). Data on demographics, clinical severity, laboratory indices, treatments, and outcomes were extracted and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results The mean age of the Omicron group was significantly younger (16.93 ± 24.80 months) compared to the non-Omicron group (32.58 ± 37.26 months; p = 0.049). Symptom severity was higher in the Omicron group, with moderate to severe symptoms observed in 73.4% of patients, compared to 32.1% in the non-Omicron group (p = 0.001). The Omicron group had longer hospital stays (2.59 ± 3.93 vs. 2.11 ± 2.75 days; p = 0.016) and required more nebulized epinephrine (2.47 ± 1.27 vs. 1.77 ± 1.003 days; p = 0.003) and repeat corticosteroid doses (83.3% vs. 38.3%; p = 0.0001). Laboratory findings showed no significant differences between the groups (all p > 0.05). Conclusion Children with croup during the Omicron surge exhibited increased symptom severity, required more intensive treatment, and experienced longer hospital stays compared to those without COVID-19. These findings emphasize the need for heightened clinical awareness and tailored management strategies for Omicron-related croup in pediatric populations.
Related Links	https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12887-025-05536-5.pdf
Ending Page	6
Page Count	6
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14712431
DOI	10.1186/s12887-025-05536-5
Journal	BMC Pediatrics
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	25
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2025-03-15
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Pediatrics Internal Medicine Croup COVID-19 Omicron variant Children Hospitalization Pediatric respiratory illness
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Journal Impact Factor	2/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	2.4/2023

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