2020, Cilt 7, Sayı 0, Sayfa(lar) 066-075
Children in COVID-19 Pandemic and The Roles of Pediatric Nurses
Hatice PARS
Dr. Öğretim Üyesi, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi, Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hemşireliği Anabilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye
Keywords: Child, COVID-19, nurse, novel coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2, a new type of coronavirus, was first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019, quickly spread all over the world and was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) as of March 11, 2020. By 22th May 2020, mortality due to COVID-19 infection, in which 4,993,470 people were infected, was determined as 6.6%. Approximately 1% to 5% of COVID-19 cases diagnosed according to available data are children. The clinical course of infection among children is generally asymptomatic. Although the severe clinical course is less common than adults, risk of severe disease is higher among children under 1 year old and children with underlying disease. In addition to contamination by droplet and contact, studies show that coronavirus remains positive for longer periods in stool samples than nasopharyngeal samples. Although many reports have been published on the epidemiological and clinical picture and treatment approaches of COVID-19 in pediatric patients, it remains uncertain. Pediatric nurses play an important role in the protection and development of child health and in the treatment and care process of COVID-19 pediatric cases during pandemic. The aim of this review is to reveal the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment process in COVID-19 pediatric cases and the roles of the pediatric nurse during pandemic.