{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,11]],"date-time":"2025-09-11T22:27:47Z","timestamp":1757629667478,"version":"3.44.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757462400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pediatr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study aims to assess the performance of the Researching COVID-19 to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative's proposed post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) index in a cohort of children evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 infection, 6\u201312 months after exposure.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Study design<\/jats:title><jats:p>We conducted a multicenter, prospective cohort study with 6- and 12-month follow-up in 14 Canadian tertiary-care pediatric emergency departments (EDs) in the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada network. Eligible children were 6 to &amp;lt;18 years of age who were tested for acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. We assessed the score validity and reliability and evaluated the associations between PASC index scores dichotomized using threshold values (\u22655.5 for ages 6 to &amp;lt;12 years and \u22655.0 for ages 12 to &amp;lt;18 years) and SARS-CoV-2 infection.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Participants included 785 children, with a median age of 9 years (IQR: 7\u201313), enrolled between August 2020 and February 2022. Factor analysis identified characteristics that accounted for 32%\u201340% of variance. Strong correlations were identified between PASC index scores and PedsQL\u2122 and overall health status; Cronbach's <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic> ranged from 0.49 to 0.67. Changes in PASC index scores across time points accounted for 71% (6 to &amp;lt;12 years) and 63% (12 to &amp;lt;18 years) of total variance. The proportion of children exceeding PASC index score thresholds did not differ between children positive and negative for SARS-CoV-2 test in the 6 to &amp;lt;12 (25% vs. 22%; aOR: 1.2; 95% CI: 0.6, 2.5) and 12 to &amp;lt;18 (18% vs. 10%; aOR: 2.2; 95% CI: 0.5, 10.4) age groups at 6 months. Similar results were reported at 12 months.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>While scores correlated with quality of life and overall health, internal reliability was low to acceptable. The PASC index was not associated with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2025.1628826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T15:29:38Z","timestamp":1757518178000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluation of a pediatric post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 index 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