الفهرس 
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Abstract
Following the onset of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the virus rapidly disseminated across the globe. Despite its worldwide transmission, there is still uncertainty regarding the manifestation, progression, and potential complications of the disease, especially in children.
The aim of the current study was to determine the factors that can predict severe cases of COVID-19 infection in children under 18 years of age. Additionally, the study sought to outline the clinical characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 infection and share healthcare providers’ experiences regarding the presentation of COVID-19 in children in Alexandria.
Two study designs were adopted to achieve the objectives of the study: The study included 110 children infected with COVID-19 from quarantine hospitals in Alexandria. The studied patients were classified into two groups: a cases group, which comprised 51 children with severe COVID-19 infection, and a control group, which had 59 children with mild to moderate disease. Both groups were in the same age group, ranging from 1 month to 18 years old, during the period November 2020 to September 2022.
In the second part of the study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess all data about the clinical findings of COVID-19 from physicians who work at pediatric COVID-19 isolation centers in Alexandria or at Alexandria Children’s Hospital. A total of 135 doctors participated in this survey. In this study, 53.6% (n=59) of the participants were male, and 46.4% (n=51) were female, with a median age of 34 months. Of the total cases, 26.36% (n=29) had a co-morbid condition, with cerebral palsy (7.3%), congenital heart disease (6.4%), and bronchial asthma (3.6%) being the most common. Regarding the outcome of cases 87.3% (n=96) cases recovered, and 14 12.7% (n=14) died.