Treatment adherence and behavior of pediatric liver transplant recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected medical care worldwide. Thus, we aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric LT recipients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on a structured internet or telephone survey was conducted among pediatric LT recipients. Survey results were compared with results of a survey conducted among pediatric patients with IBD. RESULTS: Seventy-six pediatric LT patients participated in the study. Of them, 58 (76.3%) reported fear of severe COVID-19 infection due to LT or LT-associated medications. Half of the patients reported needing emotional support. Most patients (51, 67.1%) reported strictly following official guidance, while more stringent protective measures were taken by 64 (84.2%) patients. None of the patients discontinued their medications due to COVID-19. Compared to pediatric patients with IBD, a higher proportion of pediatric LT recipients reported fears of contracting severe COVID-19 infection due to their illness or medications (45, 59.2% vs. 110, 45.1%). CONCLUSION: Among pediatric LT recipients a higher proportion reported fear of severe COVID-19 infection, implemented additional protective measures and expressed a need for emotional support, compared to patients with IBD. Medical teams should provide adequate information and offer a support system for this vulnerable population.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced admissions of children with and without chronic conditions to general paediatric wards.

AIM: We examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on how many children were admitted to Israel's largest tertiary paediatric hospital and why they were admitted. METHODS: Israel declared COVID-19 a national emergency on 19 March 2020. This study examined daily hospital admissions to our three general paediatric wards during the COVID-19 lockdown period from 20 March to 18 April 2020. These 258 admissions were compared with the 4217 admissions from the period immediately before this, 1 February to 19 March 2020, plus 1 February to 18 April in 2018 and 2019. We also compared why patients were admitted during the study period, and any pre-existing conditions, with 638 children hospitalised during the same period in 2019. RESULTS: The mean number of daily hospitalisations during the COVID-19 lockdown period was 8.6, which was 59% lower than the 20.9 recorded during the other three periods before COVID-19. There was a significant decrease in the number of patients admitted with infectious (74%) and non-infectious (44%) aetiologies from 2019 to 2020, and these occurred among patients with (58%), and without (55%), pre-existing medical conditions. CONCLUSION: The Israeli COVID-19 lockdown had a dramatic effect on admissions to the paediatric wards of a tertiary hospital.

A Drop in Number of Hospitalizations Among Children with Bacterial Infections During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

A significant drop was found in the number of hospitalizations due to bacterial infections among children during the first peak period of COVID-19 in Israel. There was a 77% decrease in serious bacterial infections, and ≥50% decrease in most types of bacterial infections, especially osteoarticular and skin infections, followed by pneumonia and ENT infections.