Post-COVID Syndrome in Children: One-Time Survey Study of Parents’ Opinion

Background. COVID-19 symptoms often persist for a long time, it indicates the post-COVID syndrome development. Its frequency in children population is generally studied by interviewing the children themselves. This approach limits the risk evaluation of post-COVID syndrome development in young children who are unable to describe the persistent symptoms due to their age. Objective. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of post-COVID syndrome in children and its effect on their daily activities by interviewing parents. Methods. The survey covered parents of children (aged from 3 months to 18 years) who suffered laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in 2021–2022 but not earlier than 12 weeks before study initiation. The survey was conducted on-line. The presence of the symptoms (persisted or occurred 12 weeks after COVID-19), its impact on children’s daily life, the need for medical treatment or doctor's advice (due to these post-covid symptoms) and vaccination against novel coronavirus infection were evaluated. Incidence of post-COVID syndrome was analyzed in subgroups based on sex, age (< 3 years, 3–6 and 7–17 years), and disease severity. Results. Invitations to participate in the study were sent to 2292 parents of all children registered at the clinic and suffered from COVID-19 via WhatsApp and Telegram messengers. 1533 (66.9%) of them agreed to take part in the survey, and 1258 (54.8%) filled out the questionnaire in full. The survey has revealed that at least one symptom that persisted or occurred 12 weeks after COVID-19 was noted by parents in 764 out of 1258 (60.6%) children (more often in the older age group and in severe cases). Significant negative impact of symptoms on children’s daily life was noted by 251 out of 764 (32.9%) respondents. Parents of 734 out of 764 (96.1%) children have visited a doctor due to post-COVID syndrome symptoms. Conclusion. Post-COVID syndrome develops in more than 60% of children after laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, according to parents. However, we have reasons to believe that parental estimations could overestimate the prevalence of post-COVID syndrome.