MATERIAL AND METHOD
This study was planned with a retrospective design. The sample included 62 pediatric patients who presented to the Pandemic Emergency Outpatient Clinic of Kırşehir Research and Training Hospital with symptoms such as fever, cough and respiratory distress between March 2020 and April 2021. The patients who were included were divided into two groups. While 32 pediatric patients who had COVID-19 PCR positivity and simultaneous thoracic CT images constituted Group 1, 30 children who had negative COVID-19 PCR results and available simultaneous thoracic CT images constituted Group 2. Patients who had pneumonia with causes other than COVID-19 and those who had a history of primary PH or pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) were excluded. Basic demographic and clinical information was obtained from the hospital database. The test results of simultaneously collected blood samples (hemogram and biochemistry) were analyzed. The research protocol was approved by the Clinical Studies Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University on 07/09/2021 with the decision numbered 2021-14/151. The study was conducted in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.