Introduction:

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has become a serious public health problem in recent years. The first case in a child was documented in January 2020 in Shenzhen, China, and by the end of the month, more than 20 pediatric cases had already been described in that country. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics, treatment, and early outcomes of newborns with SARS-CoV-2 infection hospitalized in the newborn unit of the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio (HUSI) in Bogotá, Colombia, between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2022.

Materials and methods:

This was a descriptive observational study. A retrospective review of the electronic medical records of newborns aged between 0 and 28 days of life with SARS-CoV-2 infection who required hospitalization at HUSI in the established period was performed. A database was created where the demographic variables, clinical and paraclinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of the patients in whom the infection was confirmed were recorded.

Results:

A total of 222 newborns were suspected to have COVID-19, of which 32 (14%) were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 2 (6%) required rehospitalization. Respiratory symptoms occurred in 40% of patients, followed by gastrointestinal symptoms in 28%. Two neonatal deaths occurred in patients who were admitted from other institutions: one related to severe COVID-19 and the other due to complications related to perinatal asphyxia.

Discussion:

Few newborns had SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, the early identification of signs of severity allowed adequate management, reducing hospital stay and complications in most patients.

        · |     · |     · ( pdf )