{
  "abstract": "The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on younger children needs further evaluation. Long COVID (LC) symptoms are different between adults and younger adults, and older children. What about the youngsters? LC remains poorly characterised in early childhood. Gross et al (JAMA Pediatr 2025;179(7):781–792. Doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1066) have used the ‘Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER)–Paediatrics’ cohort study to examine the 472 infants/toddlers and 539 preschool-aged children who were recruited. The RECOVER study is a multisite longitudinal cohort study recruiting children (with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection history) from 30 USA healthcare and community settings. The study included 472 infants/toddlers (mean (SD) age, 12 (9) months; 278 infected with SARS-CoV-2; 194 uninfected; 234 male (50%); and 539 preschool-aged children (mean (SD) age, 48 (10) months; 399 infected with SARS-CoV-2; 140 uninfected; 277 female (51%); The median (IQR) time between first infections and completion of symptom surveys was 318 (198–494) days for infants/toddlers and 520 (330–844) days for preschool-aged children. Infants/toddlers (0–2 years) with an infection history were more likely to experience trouble sleeping, fussiness, poor appetite, stuffy nose and cough, and preschool-aged children (3–5 years) were more likely to experience a dry cough and daytime tiredness/sleepiness or low energy. Participants with higher indices often had poorer overall health, a lower quality of life and perceived delays in developmental milestones. These symptom patterns were different across infants/toddlers and preschool-aged children and from previously studied older children and adults.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [],
      "name": "BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Highlights from the literature",
  "uid": "34ed6f58-16c7-505d-80bd-86a29d12f6ce"
}