Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This brief provides guidance for governments, policymakers, UN agencies and development partners to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as an integral part of the COVID-19 response and in broader efforts for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. NCDs, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease, are amplifying the impacts of COVID-19, and COVID-19 is exacerbating the burden of NCDs, particularly in already disadvantaged communities. Almost one fourth (22%) of the global population is estimated to have an underlying condition that increases their vulnerability to COVID-19, and most of these conditions are NCDs. Urgent action across sectors is needed to address the root causes of NCDs and increase access to affordable and quality treatments and prevention.

The new coronavirus disease outbreak in 2019 (COVID-19) represents a dramatic challenge for healthcare systems worldwide. As to viral tropism, lungs are not the only COVID-19 target but also the heart may be involved in a not negligible percentage of the infected patients. Myocarditis-related cardiac dysfunction and potentially life-threatening arrhythmias are the main aftermaths. A few studies showed that myocardial injury in adult patients is often linked with a fatal outcome. Conversely, scientific evidence in children is sparse, although several reports were published with the description of a cardiac involvement in COVID-19 paediatric patients. In these young subjects, a background of surgically treated congenital heart disease seems to be a predisposing factor. This systematic review is aimed at summarizing all COVID-19 cases with a cardiac involvement published in paediatric age and trying to explain the underlying mechanisms responsible for COVID-19-related myocardial damage.