Sudden Food Aversion In Toddler? This Could Be First Sign Of Covid Infection, New Study Says

A sudden complete or nearly complete avoidance of food in toddlers, due to alterations in the child's sense of smell and taste, could be a clue to a diagnosis of Covid-19, report says.

New Delhi: A study by doctors in California has suggested that one clue to a diagnosis of Covid-19 in toddlers could be a sudden aversion to solid foods. This complete or nearly complete avoidance of food, the doctors said in their report, happens because of alterations in the child's sense of smell and taste.

The report was published in Pediatrics earlier this week.

In the report, the doctors presented two cases of children, both less than two years of age, who suddenly developed acute solid food aversion around the time they were diagnosed with Covid-19. The study said this could be a manifestation of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction (OGD) from SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

The report also provided a summary of all reported cases of OGD in children with Covid-19.

The doctors described that the two children gagged or spit up the food immediately if they ate anything. One of them also became sensitive to smell at the same time.

Loss of smell has been an established sign of Covid-19 infection. 

'OGD May Be The First Or Only Clue'

The report said both children had started to tolerate some solid food six to eight months after diagnosis, but did not fully resume their baseline intake.

“This delayed and variable clinical course in our patients is consistent with recent studies in adults that have demonstrated that COVID-19–related OGD can wax and wane and one-third of patients may have persistent symptoms," the doctors said. 

They said while they hope to see more data to add to their findings, their own limited data shows “OGD may be the first or only clue to the diagnosis of this infection among preverbal children”.

“We believe the presence of acute food aversion in preverbal children, in the appropriate epidemiological and clinical context, should trigger testing for COVID-19 because it may be the first and only symptom of infection and for pediatricians to provide anticipatory guidance for parents after acute COVID-19 infection in young children,” they said.