Study suggests diarrhoea and vomiting may be key sign of coronavirus in children
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Diarrhoea and vomiting could be an important sign of Covid-19 in children, researchers say, leading to calls for the official NHS list of symptoms to be updated.
The checklist for coronavirus in children currently includes just three symptoms: a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, and a loss or change to the sense of smell or taste. The latter was added to the list in May.
A number of studies in adults have flagged symptoms including muscle pain, fatigue, confusion, chest pains and stomach trouble. Among them, a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study by researchers at King’s College London, based on data from the Covid symptom study app, found that symptoms fall into six main clusters in adults, one of them being mainly gastrointestinal problems.
Now researchers at Queen’s University Belfast say they have confirmed that an upset stomach is a symptom of Covid-19 in children, and revealed it appears to be a key sign of the disease.
The study took place between 6 April and 3 July and involved more than 990 children of healthcare workers from across the UK aged between two and 15. None had been admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
All had a blood sample taken, which was tested for antibodies to coronavirus, and data was also gathered on whether they had experienced any symptoms – crucially this was done before antibody results were revealed.
The team found that 68 children – 6.9% of the total – had antibodies for the disease, suggesting they had had Covid-19, and half of these reported having had symptoms.
Some symptoms were particularly common, with 31% of the 68 children reporting fever, 18% reporting headache and 19% reporting gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps. For children without antibodies the figures were 11%, 4% and 3% respectively.
While only 34 children were symptomatic in the study, Waterfield said the findings were important, not least as diarrhoea and vomiting were clear and obvious problems to spot.
Dr Tom Waterfield, the first author of the researchsaid the study should also reassure parents. “Lots of children will have a running nose this winter [and] sneezing – that is not a sign,” he said.
