Invasive and Non-invasive Mechanical Ventilation in Pediatric Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review

In the last months of 2019, the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spread worldwide. This study investigated the need for mechanical ventilation in children who were admitted for COVID-19.

This article provides a systematic review of studies about children with COVID-19 requiring invasive or non-invasive mechanical ventilation. Electronic databases including SID, Iran Medex, Magiran, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched using related keywords in Persian and English until July 20, 2020. Also, references in the selected articles were screened.

Twenty studies were selected in which 1709 hospitalized children were included. Mechanical ventilation methods were used in 15% of the patients, while in 260 non-invasive ventilation (n=130, 7.6%) and invasive ventilation (n=130, 7.6%) were used. In critically ill children or those who needed intensive care (n=302), non-invasive ventilation and invasive mechanical ventilation were performed in 72 (23.8%) and 71 (23.5%), respectively. Mortality occurred in 1.3% of all admitted patients and 4% of critically ill children.

According to this review, 15% of hospitalized children with COVID-19 needed a form of mechanical ventilation.