Evaluation of effectiveness of pharmacotherapy used for management of Patients admitted with diagnosis of COVID-19 to pediatric intensive care unit from December 2019 till February 2022 : a retrospective study

Abstract

There is limited information on clinical signs and laboratory findings in children. Treatments used in children are usually generalized based on the results of studies in adults, and information regarding the effectiveness of different drugs in children is limited. Aim: Examining the relationship between the drugs used and examining the laboratory data and examining the clinical findings with 4 outcomes, the length of stay in the hospital and the length of stay in the PICU and the length of ventilation and finally hospitalization.materials and methods: The study inclusion criteria include all patients aged 2 months to 18 years, with a diagnosis of COVID-19 based on clinical criteria or a positive PCR test from 2020/1/21 to 2022/1/21 who were hospitalized in PICU. The data extracted from the patients' files were recorded in special forms for each patient, and after completing the data, an excel data file was created, and then statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS software.Results: Methylprednisolone drug has a significant relationship with length of stay in PICU, length of hospital stay and finally hospitalization.Also, a series of other quantitative or qualitative factors and drugs were also clearly related to our 4 main outcomes, which considering these factors can lead to determining the most optimal treatment regimen in the treatment of COVID-19 in children.Discussion : Information regarding the effectiveness of different drugs in children is limited. Significant cases of relationship between quantitative and qualitative clinical factors and drugs with our 4 main outcomes were reported in order to check the relationship of each factor with these 4 outcomes.