COPP Study
A national registration study into children with COVID-19 who present themselves at hospital in the Netherlands, where they may or may not need to be admitted for secondary or tertiary care.
INTRODUCTION COPP STUDY
A national registration study into COVID-19 in children
The new human corona virus, or ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), is currently causing a pandemic. The virus was first reported in Wuhan, in the Hubai province in China in December 2019. In Europe the virus first emerged in Italy and consequently spread to most other European countries. In the Netherlands the first case was reported on February 27, 2020 (RIVM).
The infection with the virus leads to the disease known as COVID-19. Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in adults range from mild, unspecific cold-like symptoms to pneumonia and severe respiratory restriction for which the patient needs to be admitted to the IC unit.
It appears that COVID-19 takes a milder course in children. In adults approximately 20% of patients develop severe symptoms. The first data from China shows that in the group of patients under the age of one 10% showed severe symptoms, which was between 3 – 7 % in older children (Guan et N Engl J Med, 2020; Huang et al. The Lancet 2020; Wang J of Med Vir 2020).
It is unknown why the disease COVID-19 manifests milder in children than in adults. It is also unclear if children with underlying health conditions do have a higher risk to develop severe symptoms.
Because the disease is caused by a novel virus, limited to no information is available on its expression, progression and treatment. For this reason this study has been launched. The goal is to have as many children who present with COVID-19 at hospital participate in the study in order to identify the course of the disease in children.
The goals of the study are;
- Describing clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in children who are presented or admitted to hospital;
- Describing the course, treatment (including supportive treatment) of the disease;
- Determining risk factors for severe manifestation of the disease;
- Characterize the body’s reaction to infection with SARS-CoV-2;
- Describing inter-regional treatment variations in Dutch hospitals.
This is a countrywide multicenter, observational prospective cohort study.
