Clinical and Healthcare Utilization Outcomes Following COVID Infection in Children
Prior to vaccine availability, severe outcomes after COVID-19 were rare in children, but infected children had higher risks of uncommon cardiac complications such as myocarditis and arrhythmias, while overall healthcare utilization and medical costs remained similar to uninfected peers.
Although most children experience mild COVID-19 illness, concerns persist about post-infection complications and healthcare needs, particularly for infections before vaccines were available. Prior studies often relied on small samples or symptom surveys, or lacked appropriate comparison groups, leaving uncertainty about medium-term clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization following pediatric COVID-19 infection.
Published in Pediatric Research, this study evaluated six-month clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization among U.S. children with COVID-19 compared with matched controls—children with a COVID test but no diagnosis—using national claims data. Results showed that severe outcomes, including MIS-C, myocarditis, acute heart failure, sepsis, and viral pneumonia—were rare, but more frequent in the COVID group.
