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Clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection in children with acute leukemia

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Abstract

Hematologic diseases and various therapeutic stages can impact the presentation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection. This study retrospectively analyzed data on Omicron infection in children with acute leukemia treated at our hospital between January 16, 2023, and February 25, 2023, using questionnaires. The prevalence of Omicron infection in children undergoing consolidation chemotherapy, maintenance chemotherapy, drug withdrawal, and healthy children was 81.8%, 75.2%, 55.2%, and 61.9%, respectively. The observed differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). During the course of infection, children with leukemia undergoing chemotherapy, including both the consolidation and maintenance chemotherapy groups, exhibited a prolonged time to achieve SARS-CoV-2 negativity compared to the drug withdrawal and healthy groups. However, there was no significant increase in the incidence of symptoms across all body systems, and no children experienced serious sequelae or death. Furthermore, our observations indicated that all manifestations of Omicron infection in children with leukemia after drug withdrawal were not significantly different from those in healthy children. This suggested, to a certain extent, that the immune function of children with leukemia recovers effectively after the cessation of drug treatment. These findings are crucial for guiding clinical management and alleviating concerns about infection for both children with leukemia and their parents.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the patients who participated in this study, their families who actively cooperated, and the healthcare professionals who treated and cared for the patients in the clinical setting.

Funding

This work was supported by Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 7222056), Capital’s Funds for Health Improvement and Research (CFH) (No. 2022–1-2091).

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Author notes

  1. Pengli Huang and Henghui Chang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leukemia Department, Hematology Center, Beijing Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, National Key Clinical Discipline of Pediatric Hematology, National Key Discipline of Pediatrics (Capital Medical University), Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, 56 Nanlishi Road, Beijing, 100045, China

    Pengli Huang, Henghui Chang, Ruidong Zhang, Ying Wu, Peijing Qi, Xueling Zheng & Huyong Zheng

  2. Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, 56 Nanlishi Road, Beijing, 100045, China

    Yaguang Peng

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  1. Pengli Huang
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Contributions

Pengli Huang and Henghui Chang collected data and drafted the manuscript. Ruidong Zhang, Ying Wu, and Peijing Qi treated the patients. Yaguang Peng and Xueling Zheng participated in statistical work. Huyong Zheng designed the questionnaires and reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huyong Zheng.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The treatment was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Beijing Children’s Hospital (Approval No.: IEC-C-006-A04-V.07).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Huang, P., Chang, H., Zhang, R. et al. Clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection in children with acute leukemia. Ann Hematol 103, 729–736 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-023-05593-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-023-05593-9

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