POST-COVID-19 SEQUELAE IN CHILDREN: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Cases of persistent symptoms after the acute phase of COVID-19 infection have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, mainly in adults. Although milder in children, recent studies indicate that this age group can also be affected by post-acute complications of this disease. In this sense, the purpose of this review was to analyze the main symptoms and pathophysiology of this condition in children. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed and LILACS databases using the descriptors “post-COVID,” “sequelae,” and “children,” combined with the Boolean operator “AND.” The inclusion criteria comprised articles published between 2020 and 2025, available as free full text, involving children and adolescents up to 18 years of age, and employing an observational or controlled clinical study design. Articles that were unrelated to the research topic or were duplicates were excluded. Through the studies analyzed, it was observed that the most frequent sequelae were fatigue, headaches, and dyspnea. A syndrome of multiple system involvement has also been reported. Although not completely clear, the pathophysiology of this disease appears to be related to ACE-2 receptors and the response of the innate immune system. In conclusion, further studies are still needed to clarify the mechanisms of this disease even after its acute phase, monitoring these patients with COVID-19 with or without sequelae in the long term.