Social Distancing for COVID-19 and Diagnoses of Other Infectious Diseases in Children

Hatoun, Jonathan; Correa, Emily Trudell; Donahue, Sara; Vernacchio, Louis

doi:10.1542/peds.2020-006460

Cited by 147 publications

(158 citation statements)

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“…Another 2 recently published studies confirm our findings and strongly suggest that social distancing and other lockdown strategies are effective to slow down the spreading of respiratory diseases and decreasing the need for hospitalization among children [13,21].…”

Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 87%

Impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonality of pediatric respiratory diseases

et al. 2020

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Introduction Respiratory tract diseases are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under the age of 5 years, constituting the highest rate of hospitalization in this age group. Objectives To determine the prevalence of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in childhood in the last 5 years and to assess the impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonal behavior of these diseases. Methods A cross-sectional clinical study was carried out, with a survey of all patients aged 0 to 17 years who were admitted with a diagnosis of respiratory diseases between January 2015 and July 2020. The database was delivered to the researchers anonymized. The variables used for analysis were date of admission, date of discharge, length of stay, age, sex and diagnosis. In order to make the analysis possible, the diagnoses were grouped into upper respiratory infection (URI), asthma / bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Results 2236 admissions were included in the study. Children under 5 years old account for 81% of hospitalizations for respiratory disease in our population. In the adjusted model, an average reduction of 38 hospitalizations was observed in the period of social isolation (coefficient: -37.66; 95% CI (- 68.17; -7.15); p = 0.016). Conclusion The social isolation measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically interfered with the seasonality of childhood respiratory diseases. This was reflected in the unexpected reduction in the number of hospitalizations in the pediatric population during this period.

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Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 87%

Impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonality of pediatric respiratory diseases

et al. 2020

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“…social distancing and improved hand hygiene) to prevent COVID-19 transmission seemed to reduce the spread of seasonal influenza in Japan and China [5] , [6] , [7] . A study from the USA also demonstrated decreased rates of children's non-respiratory infectious diseases during social distancing [8] . However, a few previous reports have described the pathogen-specific incidences of laboratory-confirmed respiratory infections in children during and especially after the lockdown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The impact of the lockdown and the re-opening of schools and day cares on the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory infections in children – A nationwide register study in Finland

et al. 2021

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Background Nationwide restrictions started in Finland in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19, leading to school and day care closures. The aim of this study is to describe the effect of closures and re-openings on the respiratory pathogen epidemiology. Methods Laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); influenza (A & B); parainfluenza-, adeno-, and rhinoviruses; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; and Streptococcus pneumoniae in children were collected from the National Infectious Disease Register over the period of 2017–2020. Weekly incidences (weeks 1 to 35) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated per 100 000 children in 2020 and compared by incidence rate ratios (IRRs) to corresponding periods in 2017−2019. Findings The lockdown had immediate impact on the incidences of respiratory pathogens except SARS-CoV-2. Week after the lockdown began IRR was 0•3 (CI 0•3–0•4) and next week the IRR was 0•1 (0•1–0•2). The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 started to decline eight weeks after the lockdown began. The highest recorded weekly incidence of SARS-CoV-2 was 7•2/100 000 children. The effect of the lockdown lasted until late summer. Rhinovirus and SARS-CoV-2 began to increase before the schools or day cares opened in August. The re-opening of schools seemed to have no impact on the incidence of any pathogen. Interpretation Our results suggest that general social distancing, including school and day care closures, played a crucial role in reducing infections, and the effect lasted for several weeks. The re-opening of schools and day care centres seems to have had no immediate impact on the incidences of any respiratory pathogens. Funding This study had no funding source.

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“…In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many ambulatory practices in the United States delayed, canceled, or converted visits from in-person to telemedicine. Social distancing and masking decreased the transmission of many viral respiratory illnesses [ 1–3 ]. To assess the impact of these measures on ambulatory pediatric antibiotic prescribing, we performed a pre-post study comparing diagnoses and antibiotic prescription rates for children pre-pandemic (P1, March 1, 2019–May 15, 2019) and during the early pandemic (P2, March 1, 2020–May 15, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even among encounters with infectious diagnoses, we observed a reduction in antibiotic prescribing. This is likely because social distancing measures decreased the transmission of viral illnesses and secondary bacterial infections, as described elsewhere [ 1 , 3 ]. Notably, we did not see a decline in diagnosis and prescription rates for nonrespiratory illnesses such as urinary tract infections and skin/soft tissue infections, supporting this theory.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Infectious Diagnoses and Antibiotic Use in Pediatric Ambulatory Practices

Katz

Spencer

Zhang

et al. 2020

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society

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Social Distancing for COVID-19 and Diagnoses of Other Infectious Diseases in Children

Cited by 147 publications

References 3 publications

Impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonality of pediatric respiratory diseases

Impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonality of pediatric respiratory diseases

The impact of the lockdown and the re-opening of schools and day cares on the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory infections in children – A nationwide register study in Finland

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Infectious Diagnoses and Antibiotic Use in Pediatric Ambulatory Practices

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