Similarities and Differences Between SARS-Cov-2 and Influenza Infection from Symptom to Diagnosis in Childhood

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Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic and annual influenza epidemic are responsible for thousands of deaths globally. This study was conducted to identify epidemiological aspects while demonstrating features that distinguish between influenza infection and COVID-19 disease in terms of clinical manifestations, laboratory, and prevention.Methods: The patients hospitalized with confirmed influenza between October 2009-May 2014 (n=344) and with confirmed COVID-19 between April 2020-June 2021 (n=251) were enrolled in this study.Results: The age of the patients with influenza infection was statistically significantly younger than the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection (mean age 6 ± 5.3 years versus 13.0 ± 5.3 years, p <0.001). Fever, cough, and myalgia were the more common symptoms of influenza (p< 0.001; p<0.001, p=0.02). It was found that in cases of COVID-19 (n=55/251, 21.9%), headache complaints were more common at admission. Lymphopenia (n=89/251 35.4%) in COVID-19 and CRP elevation detected in influenza cases (n=201/344 58.4%) were statistically significant (p=0.01/ p<0.001). The mean hospital stay was 6±5 days (1-90 days) in influenza and 1±4 (1-64 days) in COVID-19 (p< 0.001). The radiological investigations were less necessary in children with COVID19 because of the lower overall incidence of infected, symptomatic, and severe cases and the lower presence of cough and respiratory symptoms compared to adults.Conclusions: As the clinical and epidemiological features of COVID-19 have many parallels with influenza, it is important to ensure optimal management of both respiratory diseases as we expect that co-circulation will continue. Clinical findings in children are not sufficient for a definitive diagnosis, so it should be supported by a viral diagnosis test.