Changes in clinical, demographic, and outcome patterns of children hospitalized with non‐SARS‐CoV‐2 viral low respiratory tract infections before and during the COVID pandemic in Rome, Italy

Abstract

IntroductionWe performed this study aiming to evaluate changes in epidemiology, clinical presentation and outcomes of children hospitalized for viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI).MethodsWe performed a retrospective study of children younger than 18 years of age hospitalized for LRTIs with a positive respiratory viral testing from 2018 to 2022. We compared need of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), invasive ventilation, and other respiratory support, viral etiologies, clinical presentations, imaging, and laboratory results in the precovid (2018–2019) and covid (2020–2022) period.ResultsA total of 523 were included in the analysis. In the pandemic period, the detection of influenza was 95% less likely to occur (odds ratio [OR]: 0.05; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.02–0.12; p < .001), likewise the detection of adenovirus was 77% less likely to occur (OR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.10–0.51; p < .001). In the pandemic period, the number of codetections increased from 15.52% in 2018 to 57.25% in 2022, resulting in a significantly increasing trend (p < .001). The odds of transfer to PICU was more than five times greater during the pandemic period (OR: 5.31; 95% CI: 1.78–15.86; p = .003).ConclusionsWe found that the pattern of LRTI in children during COVID‐19 pandemic significantly changed in terms of etiologies and increased severity.

Utility of Rapid Nasopharyngeal Swab for Respiratory Pathogens in the Diagnosis of Viral Infections in Children Hospitalized with Fever: A Prospective Validation Study to Improve Antibiotic Use

“…As we previously reported (REF) [17], the QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel is a qualitative test intended for analysing nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples from patients suspected of respiratory infection for the presence of viral or bacterial nucleic acids (https://www.qiagen.com/zh-us/products/diagnostics-and-clinical-research/ infectious-disease/qiastat-dx-syndromic-testing/qiastat-dx-eua-us, accessed on 1 October 2023). The QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel is able to accept both dry swabs and transport medium liquid samples.…”

Determinants of antibiotic prescription in children with adenovirus respiratory tract infections

“…During the study period, two different kits have been used, as previously described [7]. For in-patient testing, the All-plex™ Respiratory Panels 1, 2 and 3 Seegene System is a molecular method for the genome detection and typing of the following respiratory viruses: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV A and B), influenza virus ((Flu A and B), parainfluenza viruses (PIV 1, 2, 3 and 4), adenovirus (AdV), enterovirus (HEV), metapneumovirus (MPV), rhinovirus (HRV), bocavirus (HBoV), and coronavirus (CoV NL63, 229E, OC43) in different types of clinical specimens.…”