PLoS Negl Trop Dis., October 2, 2020
Anna Ramond, Ludmila Lobkowicz, Nuria Sanchez Clemente, Aisling Vaughan, Marília Dalva Turchi, Annelies Wilder-Smith, Elizabeth B Brickley
Abstract
Methods: The authors of this systematic review on the clinical presentation and complications of children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years with a robust diagnosis of ZIKV infection searched PubMed, Web of Science, LILACs, and EMBASE until 13 February 2020 and screened reference lists of eligible articles. The studies' risk of bias was assessed using pre-specified criteria.
Findings: The review collated the evidence from 2543 pediatric ZIKV cases representing 17 countries and territories, identified in 1 cohort study, 9 case series and 22 case reports. The most commonly observed signs and symptoms of ZIKV infection in children and adolescents were mild and included fever, rash, conjunctivitis and arthralgia. The frequency of neurological complications was reported only in the largest case series (identified in 1.0% of cases) and in an additional 14 children identified from hospital-based surveillance studies and case reports. ZIKV-related mortality was primarily accompanied by co-morbidity and was reported in one case series (<0.5% of cases) and three case reports. One death was attributed to complications of Guillain-Barré Syndrome secondary to ZIKV infection.
Conclusions and relevance: Based on the current evidence, the clinical presentation of ZIKV infection in children and adolescents appears to be primarily mild and similar to the presentation in adults, with rare instances of severe complications and/or mortality. However, reliable estimation of the risks of ZIKV complications in these age groups is limited by the scarcity and quality of published data. Additional prospective studies are needed to improve understanding of the relative frequency of the signs, symptoms, and complications associated with pediatric ZIKV infections and to investigate any potential effects of early life ZIKV exposure on neurodevelopment.