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Common seasonal respiratory viral infections in children before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2021

Xiaoyan Song Open the ORCID record for Xiaoyan Song [Opens in a new window] ,
Meghan Delaney ,
Rahul K. Shah ,
Joseph M. Campos ,
David L. Wessel  and
Roberta L. DeBiasi
Xiaoyan Song*
Affiliation:
Office of Infection Control/Epidemiology, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Health Science, Washington, DC
Meghan Delaney
Affiliation:
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Health Science, Washington, DC
Rahul K. Shah
Affiliation:
Division of Quality and Safety, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Health Science, Washington, DC
Joseph M. Campos
Affiliation:
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Health Science, Washington, DC
David L. Wessel
Affiliation:
Chief Medical Office, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Health Science, Washington, DC
Roberta L. DeBiasi
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Disease, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Health Science, Washington, DC
*
Author for correspondence: Xiaoyan Song, E-mail: xsong@childrensnational.org
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Abstract

Objectives:

To describe the incidence of seasonal respiratory viral infections (s-RVIs) before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to compare virus-specific patient outcomes in pediatric patients.

Design:

A retrospective cross-sectional study including patient admissions to the Children’s National Hospital between October 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020.

Results:

Among 12,451 patient admissions between March 15 and December 31, 2020 (cohort 1), 8,162 (66%) were tested for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and 249 (2.0%) were positive. Among 10,986 patient admissions between April 1 and December 31, 2020 (cohort 2), 844 (8%) were tested for s-RV upon admission and 160 were positive. Thus, 1.5% of patient admissions were associated with laboratory-confirmed s-RVIs. Among the 49,901 patient admissions during a viral season between October 1, 2015, and March 31, 2020 (cohort 3), 7,539 (15%) were tested for s-RV upon admission and 4,531 were positive; thus, 9.0% of patient admissions were associated with laboratory-confirmed s-RVIs. hHRV/rENT was the most detected virus, but the detection rate decreased substantially (31% vs 18%; P < .001) during the COVID-19 pandemic. No patients had RSV, influenza, hMPV, hPIV, or hCoV detected upon admission after April 21, 2020. The 3 patient cohorts had no statistically significant difference in the percentage of ICU admissions (10.8% vs 15.0% vs 14.2%; P > .05) or death at discharge (0.8% vs 0.6% vs 0.5%; P > .05).

Conclusions:

Compared to COVID-19, s-RVI cases were associated with a higher proportion of inpatient admissions but were similar in ICU admission and death rates in hospitalized pediatric patients. Public health interventions for preventing COVID-19 were highly effective in preventing pediatrics s-RVIs.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 43 , Issue 10 , October 2022 , pp. 1454 - 1458
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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