Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a variation in the circulation of common respiratory viruses. Our objective was to analyse the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with previous epidemic seasons.
Methods
We conducted an observational study involving infants with RSV bronchiolitis admitted to a tertiary hospital during two periods: pandemic COVID-19 (15 March 2020–30 September 2021) and pre-pandemic (1 October 2014–14 March 2020). Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected.
Results
A total of 270 patients were admitted for RSV bronchiolitis: 253 in the pre-pandemic period with an average of 42 admissions per season vs 17 in the pandemic. During the pandemic, the RSV outbreak started late in June 2021 with a higher percentage of prematurity and PICU admissions.
Conclusion
A change in RSV seasonality was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an unusual outbreak in summer 2021 of lower magnitude than previous seasons.
Background and Objective: The clinical relevance of the detection of multiple respiratory viruses in acute bronchiolitis (AB) is not established. Our goal was to evaluate the effect of viral coinfections on the evolution and severity of AB.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Spain, from September 2012 to March 2020. Infants admitted for AB, with at least one respiratory virus identified by molecular diagnostic techniques were involved. A comparison was made between single virus infection vs viral coinfections. The evolution and severity of AB were determined based on the days of hospitalization and admission to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
Results: Four hundred forty-five patients were included (58.4% male). Median weight was 5.2 kg (RIQ 4.2 – 6.5) and age 2.5 months (RIQ 1.4 – 4.6). A total of 105 patients (23.6%) were admitted to PICU. The Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) was the most frequent etiological agent (77.1%). A single virus was detected in 270 patients (60.7%) and viral coinfections in 175 (39.3%), of which 126 (28.3%) had two viruses and 49 (11%) had three or more viruses. Hospital length of stay (LOS) increased proportionally to the number of viruses detected, with a median of 6 days (IQR 4 – 8) in single infection, 7 days (IQR 4 – 9) in coinfection by two viruses and 8 days (IQR 5 – 11) in coinfection ≥ 3 viruses, (p=0.003). The adjusted Cox regression model showed that detection of ≥ 3 viruses was an independent risk factor for longer hospital LOS (HR 0.568, 95%CI 0.410 – 0.785). No significant association was observed between viral coinfections and the need for PICU admission (OR 1.151; 95%CI 0.737 – 1.797).
Conclusions: Viral coinfections modify the natural history of AB prolonging the hospital LOS, proportionally to the number of viruses detected, without increasing the need for admission to the PICU.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.