Chronic respiratory diseases other than asthma in children: the COVID-19 tsunami

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects all components of the respiratory system, including the neuromuscular breathing apparatus, conducting and respiratory airways, pulmonary vascular endothelium, and pulmonary blood flow. In contrast to other respiratory viruses, children have less severe symptoms when infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A minority of children experience a post-infectious inflammatory syndrome, the pathology and long-term outcomes of which are poorly understood. The reason for the lower burden of symptomatic disease in children is not yet clear, but several pathophysiological characteristics are postulated. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has brought distinct challenges to the care of children globally. Proper recommendations have been proposed for a range of non-asthmatic respiratory disorders in children, including primary ciliary dyskinesia and cystic fibrosis. These recommendations involve the continuation of the treatment during this period and ways to maintain stability. School closures, loss of follow-up visit attendance, and loss of other protective systems for children are the indirect outcomes of measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, COVID-19 has reshaped the delivery of respiratory care in children, with non-urgent and elective procedures being postponed, and distancing imperatives have led to rapid scaling of telemedicine. The pandemic has seen an unprecedented reorientation in clinical trial research towards COVID-19 and a disruption in other trials worldwide, which will have long-lasting effects on medical science. In this narrative review, we sought to outline the most recent findings on the direct and indirect effects of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on pediatric respiratory chronic diseases other than asthma, by critically revising the most recent literature on the subject.

The relative impact of vaccination momentum on COVID-19 rates of death in the USA in 2020/2021. The forgotten role of population wellness

“…However, SARS-CoV-2 being a respiratory virus COVID-19 being largely a respiratory disease [13], correlation significances greater than 0.05 related to COVID-19 rates of death in columns (1), (4), and (5) are unexpected and at odds with the correlation significances in columns ( 2) and ( 6).…”

The year 2021 in COVID-19 pandemic in children

“…Few weeks following COVID-19 pandemic in Italy major changes have been observed in clinical practice at both the hospital and primary care levels. In the early phase of pandemics, in order to contain the infection, several outpatient and inpatient services were discontinued if not considered an emergency [ 94 , 95 ]. Therefore, outpatient visits to pediatric specialties were reduced by 80%, also due to the parents’ fear of contagious.…”

“…Later, most activities restarted, but with limitations due to restrictive measures in place. This has led to difficulties in management of chronic conditions with the risk of delaying in the treatment of exacerbations, supplying medical devices, frequency and quality of follow-up visits [ 94 , 96 , 97 ].…”

Endotypes of Prematurity and Phenotypes of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Toward Personalized Neonatology

“…COVID-19 is generally a mild disease in children. However, a proportion of infants that test positive for SARS-CoV-2 require admission to the hospital [ 119 ]. Among hospitalized children aged <2 years, chronic lung diseases, including BPD, were the most important risk factor for the development of severe COVID-19 [ 120 ].…”