COVID-19 in Infants and Children: Lessons From Italy

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for all health care systems worldwide.  The experience of NICU and pediatric clinicians in Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, can provide valuable insight for hospitals and clinicians.

Dr. Paolo Manzoni shares his perspectives and research for COVID-19 in infants and children comparing latest data and studies in China, Italy, and the United States. For newborns, data show there is no vertical transmission to date. Neonates, however, can experience mild-to-moderate forms of the disease. Dr. Manzoni further discusses the peculiar presentations in children, including gastrointestinal and peripheral vasculitis. While current data suggest children may be less severely affected and may experience different symptoms than adults, it is vital to understand the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 pediatric cases, because less seriously ill and asymptomatic children may be carriers of the virus.

• Profile

  Paolo Manzoni, MD, PhD

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  Paolo Manzoni, MD, PhD, is director of the Division of Pediatrics and Neonatology in the Department of Maternal and Infant Medicine at Nuovo Ospedale degli Infermi in Ponderano (Biella), Italy. Dr. Manzoni earned his medical degree from the University of Turin School of Medicine and completed a residency in pediatric pulmonology and a fellowship in infectious diseases and immunology at Azienda Ospedaliera OIRM – Sant’Anna in Turin, Italy.

  Dr. Manzoni’s previous positions include a professorship and more than 20 years’ experience in pediatrics, neonatology, and the NICU at Sant’Anna hospital, and as coordinator of the Neonatology Network of the Clinical Trial Center at the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù in Rome.

  An internationally renowned neonatologist, Dr. Manzoni’s extensive clinical experience includes the management of more than 10,500 newborns and infants, many with challenging medical conditions.  His primary research includes pediatric and neonatal infectious diseases, fungal infections and prevention, RSV-related diseases, retinopathy of prematurity, and neonatal nutrition. Dr. Manzoni was the leading investigator of the first multicenter clinical trial of prophylactic fluconazole in preterm neonates, as well as the first international, multicenter clinical trial of probiotic and lactoferrin feeding in preterm neonates.

  Dr. Manzoni serves on the scientific board of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine (EAPM); the board of the Neonatal Infectious Diseases Collaborative Group of the Italian Society of Neonatology; and as a consultant in pediatrics and neonatology to the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). He is the author of more than 200 research articles published in peer-reviewed international medical journals.

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  Paolo Manzoni, MD, PhD

  Director
  Division of Pediatrics and Neonatology
  Department of Maternal-Infant Medicine
  Nuovo Ospedale degli Infermi
  Ponderano (Biella), Italy

  Board of Directors
  Neonatal Infectious Disease Group of the Italian Society of Neonatology