Title:Follow-up COVID-19 and Lung Ultrasound are Fundamental to Prove
Full Recovery in Children with Interstitial Lung Disease Requiring Oxygen:
A Case Report
Volume: 19
Issue: 2
Author(s): Marcella Contieri*, Cristiana Indolfi, Sossio Vitale, Angela Klain, Giulio Dinardo, Fabio Decimo and Michele Miraglia del Giudice
Affiliation:
- Department of Woman, Child, and General and Specialised Surgery, University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, Naples, Italy
Keywords:
COVID-19, lung ultrasound, spirometry, asthma, SARS-CoV-2, chest auscultation, BMI.
Abstract:
Background: Children with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 represent the majority of
paediatric cases. Hospitalisation and critical care are required only in a small proportion of SARSCoV-
2 positive children who present severe symptoms, like interstitial lung disease. A quarter of
children experience persistent symptoms some months later after being hospitalised, and they need
to be properly followed up.
Case Presentation: The authors describe a case report of long-COVID in a 5 years old child, who
was previously hospitalized for a severe case of COVID-19 (an interstitial lung disease requiring
oxygen), followed up in 3 months in our Pediatric Department.
Results: After 3 months post-hospitalisation, despite his clinic history, the clinical examination was
normal, during the six-minute walking test he did not desaturate, the spirometry was in the norm
and the lung ultrasound did not show any pathological findings.
Conclusion: We reported a case of a child previously hospitalised for interstitial lung disease with
long-COVID, who has been followed up 3 months after the hospitalisation by our Department of
Pediatrics of the University ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’. Based on our experience, even in children who have
experienced a severe form of COVID-19 disease and who continue to exhibit symptoms, a proper
follow-up can demonstrate a full recovery in a few months.
