Table 1

Characteristics of included studies

StudySourceTypeContextSearch endAgeCase definitionIncluded studiesTotal childrenCountries of studiesQuality summary
Mantovani et al 11 ProfessionalSR/MAAll11 AprilNSNS192855China 17, USA, SpainHigh
De Sousa et al 12 PubMedSRAll6 April<18 yearsRT-PCR+381124China 33, Italy, Iran, Singapore, South Korea, VietnamLow
Yasuhara et al 13 PubMedSRAll20 June<18 yearsRT-PCR+46114China 20, USA 13, 2 Italy, 2 Iran, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Spain, Lebanon, Belgium, UK, Turkey, FranceLow
Hoang et al 14 PubMedSRAll14 May≤21 yearsRT-PCR+131778026 countries; China made up 64% of studiesHigh
Cui et al 15 PubMedSR/MAAll30 April<18 yearsRT-PCR+485829China 43, Singapore, Korea, Spain, USA, IranHigh
Raba et al 16 ProfessionalSRAll; under 1 year7 April<1 yearRT-PCR+18160China 17, VietnamMedium
Zhang et al 17 PubMedSR/MAAll4 May0–18 years‘Laboratory confirmed COVID-19’46551China 35, Iran 2, Italy 3, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, USA, VietnamHigh
Ma et al 18 PubMedSR/MAHospitalised21 AprilNSRT-PCR+15486ChinaMedium
Ding et al 19 ProfessionalSR/MAAll1 April0–17 yearsRT-PCR+14371ChinaHigh
Christophers et al 20 PubMedSRAll15 May1 month to 18 yearsRT-PCR+21123China 16, USA, Italy 2, Iran, MalaysiaMedium
Liguoro et al 21 PubMedSRAll1 May0–18 years‘Confirmed cases’627480China 49, South Korea 3, Italy 5, Vietnam, Iran, USA, Spain, MalaysiaMedium
Assaker et al 22 PubMedSR/MAAll3 MayNSRT-PCR+281614China 24, Malaysia, Spain, Italy, USAMedium
Chang et al 23 HandsearchSR/MAAll15 March<18 yearsRT-PCR+9*93ChinaMedium
Wang et al 24 medRxivSR/MAAll31 March<18 yearsWHO definition49†166745 China 1 Singapore, 1 Korea, 1 Vietnam, 1 IranHigh
Jahangir et al 25 PubMedSRAll9 April0–19 yearsNS27NSChina, South Korea, Spain, USA: numbers not statedLow
Pei et al 26 PubMedSRAll3 March0–18 yearsRT-PCR+570ChinaMedium
Kharoud et al 27 Europe PMCSR/MAAll15 July0–18 years‘Laboratory confirmed COVID-19’37668China 33, Italy 2, USA, SpainHigh
Wang et al 28 Europe PMCSR/MAGastrointestinal symptoms only10 AugustNSNS383028China 21, other countries (not listed) 17High

  • Search end: all dates are in 2020. Countries: where countries have no number next to them, each country had one included study.

  • *In Chang et al, 2 studies examined neonates only which were not included in the meta-analysis.

  • †In Wang et al, only studies with at least 9 cases were included in the meta-analysis.

  • All, all contexts; MA, meta-analysis; NS, not stated; SR, systematic review.