We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Respiratory Failure in an Extremely Premature Neonate with COVID-19.
- Authors
Kumar, Vasantha H. S.; Prasath, Arun; Blanco, Clariss; Kenney, Patrick O.; Ostwald, Christina M.; Meyer, Tracy S.; Clementi, Cara F.; Maciejewski, Richard; Wilby, Mark T.; Reynolds, Anne Marie; Ja Hpa, N.; Yu, Karl O. A.
- Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a condition associated with SARS-CoV-2, typically results in mild infection in infants and children. However, children with risk factors such as chronic lung disease and immunosuppression have higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. We report a case of a 27-week-gestation extremely premature infant born to a mother with COVID-19 infection. The infant, initially treated for surfactant deficiency, developed worsening hypoxic respiratory failure on the fifth day of life requiring escalating ventilatory support, an elevated level of C-reactive protein, thrombocytopenia, and an elevated level of d-dimer. The infant was positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RTPCR from Day 1 to Day 42 of his life. The infant responded to a seven-day course of dexamethasone with a gradually decreasing oxygen requirement and could be extubated to non-invasive ventilation by the end of the fifth week after birth. The infant is currently on home oxygen by nasal cannula. Prolonged shedding of the virus may be a unique feature of the disease in premature infants. Extreme prematurity, immature lungs, and an immunocompromised status may predispose these infants to severe respiratory failure and a prolonged clinical course. Instituting appropriate COVID-19 protocols to prevent the spread of the disease in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is of utmost importance. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 may have implications in the management of extremely premature infants in the NICU.
- Subjects
NEWBORN infant health; RESPIRATORY insufficiency; NEONATAL diseases; COVID-19; IMMUNOSUPPRESSION; C-reactive protein
- Publication
Children, 2021, Vol 8, Issue 6, p1
- ISSN
2227-9067
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/children8060477