A Clinical Profile of Pediatric COVID-19 Testing in the Emergency Department, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic marked a health and economic crisis of massive proportions. In its early months, literature was centered on adult medical and critical care. As time progressed, international reports of COVID-19 infection in children steadily grew; however, data on disease features in the United Arab Emirates’ pediatric population was noticeably lagging. Method. The presented research was conducted at Latifa Women and Children Hospital Emergency Department to ascertain an association between a child’s presenting features and basic investigations to a subsequent positive COVID-19 test result. Data was collected via electronic medical records and statistical analysis performed with SPSS version 22.0. Results. A total of four hundred and five (405) patients were analyzed, with 32 (8%) being COVID-19 positive on initial testing in emergency department. There is a statistically significant correlation (p