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To the Editor: We thank Mungmunpuntipantip and Wiwanikit for their comments and reflections on our paper [1, 2]. We understand that they are concerned regarding the lower incidence of long-COVID in our study subjects and the effect of underlying disease on diagnosis of long-COVID.
We agree with them that the incidence in our survey was lower as compared to other studies done mostly from developed countries [3]. We have already mentioned in our paper the various factors which might be responsible for the lower incidence like exclusion of older children, difference in methodology of study, cultural factors, and duration of follow-up. This study was only a telephonic survey and was done to sensitize treating physicians that long-COVID can be seen in Indian children too, and population-based surveys would be required to determine actual incidence and prevalence of this entity in our population.
We agree with the authors that underlying co-morbidities can influence the symptoms of long- COVID. But in our cohort, the 3 children who had persistent symptoms following diagnosis of acute COVID-19 illness did not have any underlying co-morbidities.
Hence we feel that larger prospective surveys are required to provide a more definitive answer to the pertinent questions on incidence and prevalence of long-COVID in pediatric age group, especially in developing country like ours.
References
Mungmunpuntipantip R, Wiwanitkit V. Long COVID in children up to 12 y of age - A retrospective telephonic survey: Correspondence. Indian J Pediatr. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04619-4.
Sah RR, Dash N, Kumar S, Dawman L, Verma S. Long COVID in children up to 12 y of age - A retrospective telephonic survey. Indian J Pediatr. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04537-5.
Lopez-Leon S, Wegman-Ostrosky T, Del Ayuzo NC, et al. Long-COVID in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Sci Rep. 2022;12:9950.
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Dash, N., Verma, S. Long COVID in Children up to 12 y of Age – A Retrospective Telephonic Survey: Author’s Reply. Indian J Pediatr 90, 844 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04620-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04620-x