Bronchiolitis, epidemiological changes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
BMC Infect Dis
; 22(1): 84, 2022 Jan 24.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1648460
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Bronchiolitis is the most common viral infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants under 2 years of age. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the seasonal bronchiolitis peaks before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.METHODS:
Descriptive, prospective, and observational study. Patients with severe bronchiolitis admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a referral tertiary hospital between September 2010 and June 2021 were included. Demographic data were collected. Viral laboratory-confirmation was carried out. Each season was analyzed and compared. The daily average temperature was collected.RESULTS:
1116 patients were recruited, 58.2% of them males. The median age was 49 days. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was isolated in 782 cases (70.1%). In April 2021, the first and only case of bronchiolitis caused by SARS-CoV-2 was identified. The pre- and post-pandemic periods were compared. There were statistically significant differences regarding age, 47 vs. 73 days (p = 0.006), PICU and hospital length of stay (p = 0.024 and p = 0.001, respectively), and etiology (p = 0.031). The peak for bronchiolitis in 2020 was non-existent before week 52. A delayed peak was seen around week 26/2021. The mean temperature during the epidemic peak was 10ºC for the years of the last decade and is 23ºC for the present season.CONCLUSION:
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has led to a clearly observable epidemiological change regarding acute bronchiolitis, which should be studied in detail. The influence of the environmental temperature does not seem to determine the viral circulation.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bronchiolitis
/
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human
/
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Etiology study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12879-022-07041-x
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