Is leukopenia and lymphopenia a characteristic feature of COVID-19 in children?

Objectives: To analyze whether leucopenia and lymphopenia a characteristic feature of children with COVID-19 and to find out its association with the disease severity Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at The Children's Hospital Lahore from March 2020 to October 2020 All confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection and post-COVID MIS-C/Kawasaki Disease diagnosed on the basis of RT-PCR and Antibody test respectively were included Complete blood and differential counts were performed on the day of admission Results: Out of a total of 83 patients 60 (72%) were diagnosed as COVID-19 and 23 (28%) as post-COVID MIS-C/KD The mean age of children was 7 0±4 3 years (95%CI: 6 07 - 8 75) with a male preponderance 51 (61%) Twenty (24%) children had an underlying comorbidity and 7 (8%) were surgical cases Our case fatality rate was 5 (6%) and all children who died had an underlying comorbid condition In both, COVID and MIS-C/KD the mean leukocyte count was (14 0 ± 12 5 vs 13 6 ± 6 9 x109/L), respectively (p=0 888) The mean lymphocyte count in children with COVID was (39 1 ± 21 4%) Patients with MIS-C/KD showed significantly higher levels of neutrophil count (76 5 ± 15 0%) as compared to children with COVID (52 0 ± 22 1%), absolute lymphocyte count was (5 02±4 81 vs 2 13±0 95 x109/L) in COVID and MIS-C respectively (p=<0 001) In 60 COVID-19 patients, the mean neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in mild-moderate and severe-critical group was 2 00 and 5 08 respectively (p=0 009) Conclusion: The blood picture of COVID-19 in children does not show leukopenia NLR was a prognostic factor to assess the severity in COVID-19 patients The presence of an underlying comorbid conditions is significant a risk factor for poor outcome [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences is the property of Professional Medical Publications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )