The Rate of Hospitalizations and Intensive Care Admissions in Boston Children Hospital

Abstract

Much remains unknown about the overall impact of COVID-19 on the pediatric population because of the relative low incidence of symptomatic pediatric cases compared to other age groups. Recent anecdotal reports of rare and unique illnesses related to COVID-19 in this population calls for a more robust analysis. A time series analysis from open source Center for Disease Control (CDC) data on Boston Children’s Hospital over a three-week period from April 21, 2020 thru May 9, 2020 was completed. An overall downward trend of both COVID-19 hospitalizations and patients requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) care was found. Moreover, the ratio of patients hospitalized requiring ICU treatment decreased. These findings suggest that pediatric patients were seen earlier in the course of illness as reports emerged linking COVID-19 to symptomatic and life-threatening illness in children. This data is intended to raise this general issue to the broad readership of The Asian Journal of Pediatric Research.