Cuba opens a clinic to detect sequelae of coronavirus in children

MATANZAS, Cuba, Feb 16 (ACN) A multidisciplinary consultation to identify possible sequelae of COVID-19 in children who suffered from the disease, caused by the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus, will open in the Cuban province of Matanzas next February 22.

According to José Hernández Hernández, director of the Eliseo Noel Caamaño provincial pediatric hospital, located in this city, in the first instance, the 192 minors affected by the pandemic in the territory to date will be treated.

He explained that experts in cardiology, immunology, neurology and nephrology will evaluate the pediatric patients, and pointed out the importance of giving medical follow-up to each case because, as it is an emerging disease, reliable descriptions of its after-effects are scarce.

Through the healthcare areas, the parents of the minors will be summoned throughout the territory, the consultation will take place twice a week and will be carried out at the provincial pediatric hospital itself, said the doctor.

He also said that five active cases of pediatric age and two accompanying adults remain in the institution, including an adolescent girl admitted to intensive care due to a major systemic disease caused by the coronavirus.

Also, Amaury Lázaro Noda Albelo, pediatrician and immunologist at the health care center, said that according to studies, the prevalence of SARS CoV-2 in the pediatric population in Cuba is 11 percent.

Although the main cause of death is respiratory failure, it is a disease that can affect different organs; in children, the most serious form is the multisystemic syndrome of which we had a case in Matanzas that has already recovered and apparently without sequelae, he said.

Cuba has one of the most complete protocols for the care of children with COVID-19, it starts from primary care, it includes medicines and actions to reinforce the individual's immune response and inhibit viral replication, said Noda Albelo.