Abstract: Objective To explore the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Shandong Province. Methods A total of 37 children patients diagnosed by novel coronavirus nucleic acid detection positively from January 26 to February 29, 2020 in Shandong Province were collected. The epidemiological history was retrospectively analyzed and the clinical characteristics, laboratory results, treatment and outcome of 21 patients among them were summarized. Results Among the 37 cases, 12 cases(32.4%)had a history of travel or residence in Wuhan within 2 weeks before the onset, 33 cases(89.2%)had a history of contact with confirmed patients and 31 cases(83.8%)had aggregation. Among the 21 patients who had available clinical data, 10 were diagnosed as mild(47.6%), 11 were diagnosed as common(52.4%), and there were no severe or critical types. Common symptoms at onset of illness were fever, cough, and headache. About 33.3% of patients had decreased WBC count. Comparied with normal, the serum level of PCT was increased, C3 and C4 decreased, creatine kinase-MB(CK-MB)increased, CRP and ESR did not change in most of the patients. CT showed that 52.4% of the patients had typical pneumonia. The interferon, lopinavir and ritonavir, ribavirin, oseltamivir and Chinese medicines were the main treatments. All patients went well. Conclusion Most of the children infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Shandong Province were aggregation with families. These children were mainly mild or common types, and even asymptomatic patients. Chest CT remains an important method for diagnosis of children infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Key words: Novel coronavirus infection, Shandong Province, Children, Epidemiological features, Clinical features