Children Are Not Little Adults

Coronavirus has caused a pandemic affecting both adults and children. Although mortality rates in adults are high, that in children has been low, with many children experiencing only mild disease. This article looks at the pathophysiologic mechanisms that may account for the differences observed in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Anne Goh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-10-01
Series:Pediatric Respirology and Critical Care Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/prcm.prcm_11_21
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849713828869177344
author Anne Goh
author_facet Anne Goh
author_sort Anne Goh
collection DOAJ
description Coronavirus has caused a pandemic affecting both adults and children. Although mortality rates in adults are high, that in children has been low, with many children experiencing only mild disease. This article looks at the pathophysiologic mechanisms that may account for the differences observed in children, namely a strong immune response, a lower number of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, and a lower inflammatory response. Though children in general have mild disease, there is a hyperinflammatory condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which is likely a postinfectious immunologic response, which is seen mainly in children and adolescents and not adults.
format Article
id doaj-art-b9a3e08bbf574d229360391d042d0970
institution DOAJ
issn 2543-0343
2543-0351
language English
publishDate 2020-10-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Pediatric Respirology and Critical Care Medicine
spelling doaj-art-b9a3e08bbf574d229360391d042d09702025-08-20T03:13:51ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsPediatric Respirology and Critical Care Medicine2543-03432543-03512020-10-0144515310.4103/prcm.prcm_11_21Children Are Not Little AdultsAnne GohCoronavirus has caused a pandemic affecting both adults and children. Although mortality rates in adults are high, that in children has been low, with many children experiencing only mild disease. This article looks at the pathophysiologic mechanisms that may account for the differences observed in children, namely a strong immune response, a lower number of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, and a lower inflammatory response. Though children in general have mild disease, there is a hyperinflammatory condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which is likely a postinfectious immunologic response, which is seen mainly in children and adolescents and not adults.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/prcm.prcm_11_21covid-19paediatricpathophysiologysars-cov-2
spellingShingle Anne Goh
Children Are Not Little Adults
Pediatric Respirology and Critical Care Medicine
covid-19
paediatric
pathophysiology
sars-cov-2
title Children Are Not Little Adults
title_full Children Are Not Little Adults
title_fullStr Children Are Not Little Adults
title_full_unstemmed Children Are Not Little Adults
title_short Children Are Not Little Adults
title_sort children are not little adults
topic covid-19
paediatric
pathophysiology
sars-cov-2
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/prcm.prcm_11_21
work_keys_str_mv AT annegoh childrenarenotlittleadults