When should a child with COVID-19 be re-examined?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien – Director of the National Children’s Hospital, said, with children, COVID-19 is a term for a group of symptoms such as fatigue, taste disturbance, headache, cough, shortness of breath, etc., that persist for 3 months after contracting COVID-19 and affect daily activities.

These symptoms may persist from the time of illness or appear after recovery and are not caused by other causes.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien, parents need to take their child to a medical facility for examination in the following cases:

• Children with a history of COVID-19 or contact with someone with COVID-19, live in an epidemic area and have symptoms such as: Continuous high fever, digestive disorders, skin rash, red lips and tongue, fatigue , headache, insomnia, taste and smell disturbances, emotional disturbances, poor concentration, memory loss, learning difficulties, persistent cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, joint pain , muscle pain, chest heaviness, nervous palpitations.
• Your child shows any signs/symptoms that were not present before COVID-19 was present.

Taking the child to the doctor will help identify the disease and have a reasonable treatment, intervention and care regimen.

In case a child has been hospitalized during an acute episode of COVID-19, parents should have their child examined again according to the appointment of a medical facility (if any).

“In addition, even if the child does not have any suspicious symptoms of post-COVID-19 infection, parents can also bring them to see a pediatrician about 4-12 weeks after contracting COVID-19 for examination and advice on health issues. problems health of children” – Assoc. Dr. Tran Minh Dien advises.

The director of the National Children’s Hospital also noted that not all symptoms appearing in children after COVID-19 are post-COVID-19. Before concluding the symptom is post-COVID-19, other causes need to be ruled out. For example, a baby who presents with a persistent cough and weight loss after contracting COVID-19 may have tuberculosis or other respiratory problems.

When going to the hospital, the child will be examined by the doctor, assess the overall health, determine the main current symptoms. If necessary, the child will be consulted or re-examined by doctors of different specialties. For example, children with chest pain after contracting COVID-19 will be examined by a cardiologist, children with cough will be examined by a respiratory specialist, children with persistent psychological problems will be examined by medical specialists. psychiatrist…

“Only do necessary exploratory tests when symptomatic, do not prescribe too many tests for children as a whole. The principles of treatment are multi-specialty coordination, diagnosis by means of exclusion and symptomatic treatment, rehabilitation and self-correction.” – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien emphasized.