• Manar M Alzahrani, Abdulaziz K Alaraifi, Lama H Aldosari, Leen O Hijazi, and Fahad A Alsaab.
• From the College of Medicine (Alzahrani), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, from the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (Alaraifi, Hijazi, Alsaab), Department of Surgery, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, and from the Department of Urology (Aldosari), King Fahad University Hospital, Alkhobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Med J. 2023 Jan 1; 44 (1): 747974-79.

ObjectivesTo explore the differences between COVID-19 and upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in the pediatric population, emphasizing smell and taste disturbances.MethodsA case-control study included 468 patients, 234 with COVID-19 (cases) and 234 with URTI (controls) at a tertiary hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2020-2021. Patients with bacterial URTI, lower tract respiratory infections, and speech or developmental delays were excluded. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Analysis System, 9.2 version. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered significant.ResultsThe male-to-female ratio was almost equal, with a mean age of 9.90±2.34. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that a change in taste significantly increases the probability of COVID-19 by 21.98 times. On the other hand, sore throat (81.5%), dyspnea (63.5%), nasal obstruction (72.7%), and otalgia significantly (74.8%) decrease the likelihood of COVID-19.ConclusionTaste disturbances increase the probability of COVID-19 infections, whereas sore throat, dyspnea, nasal obstruction, and otalgia increase the likelihood of other URTIs. The described differences might aid physicians in their differential diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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