Studies show that hospitalization for pediatric infections has decreased during the first year of the pandemic

During the first year or so of the covid-19 pandemic, hospitalizations for common and severe pediatric infections in the UK have dramatically decreased. This is probably due to social distance measurements, school and workplace closures, and travel restrictions.Along BMJ today.

Many of these measures are unsustainable outside the pandemic, but researchers have found that interventions that can be continued to minimize the burden on the health care system and protect vulnerable children, especially during the winter months. Seeking further evaluation of.

Around the world, the indirect effects of covid-19 on child health appear to be significant. For example, childhood immunization programs have been interrupted, delaying visits to the emergency department, and the impact of such delays on patient outcomes is unknown.

To address this, Oxford University researchers have found that 19 common pediatric respiratory infections, severely invasive infections, and vaccine-preventable disease hospitalization rates before and after the onset of a pandemic in the United Kingdom. And evaluated the mortality rate.

Their analysis included data from all children aged 0-14 years who were admitted to the NHS Hospital in the United Kingdom infected between March 1, 2017 and June 30, 2021.

Common respiratory infections included tonsillitis, influenza, and bronchiolitis, and severe invasive infections included septicemia, meningitis, and osteomyelitis (bone infections). Vaccine-preventable illnesses included measles, mumps, and some bacterial causes of serious illness.

Potentially influential factors were considered, including gender, age, ethnicity, geographic area, deprivation, and pre-existing conditions (comorbidity).

Since March 1, 2020, all but one of the 19 infectious conditions surveyed have seen a significant and sustained reduction in hospitalization.

Influenza has the highest reduction rate among common respiratory infections, and the number of hospitalizations is 5,379 from March 1, 2020 to 12 months (from March 1, 2017 to February 29, 2020). It decreased by 94% from the annual average of 304 people. In the case of bronchitis, enrollment decreased by more than 80% from 51,655 (annual average 2017-20) to 9,423 in 2020-21.

Among the severely invasive infections, the reduction rates ranged from 26% for osteomyelitis to 50% for meningitis. In addition, vaccine-preventable infectious diseases decreased from 53% of mumps to 90% of measles, and hospitalizations in 2020-21 decreased from 149 (annual average 2017-20) to 15.

The decline was similar among all geographic areas, deprivations, ethnic groups, and children in pre-existing conditions with the highest risk of death from serious illness or infection.

Absolute deaths within 60 days of admission for sepsis, meningitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, viral wheezing, and upper respiratory tract infections also decreased, but researchers were admitted with pneumonia that died within 60 days. He states that the proportion of children has increased.

The only infection that did not show a decrease in hospitalization was pyelonephritis (kidney infection). Researchers say this may be because non-drug interventions and social restrictions do not affect this condition.

Recent data also show that some respiratory infections have increased to higher than normal levels since May 2021.

Since these are observations, the cause cannot be identified and patients who were not hospitalized or who were not hospitalized are excluded. Nonetheless, the study included all hospitalizations associated with various infections in the entire pediatric population of England over the years, suggesting solid results.

As such, researchers also found a range of behavioral changes (adoption of non-drug interventions) and social strategies (school closures, blockades, and travel restrictions) used to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infections. , General and severe pediatric infections in the United Kingdom.

Many of these measures are generally unsustainable except in pandemics due to the inherent adverse economic and social consequences, but especially during the winter months, “minimize the burden on the health care system, It may be possible to continue “to protect vulnerable children.”

Updated results will be published here every month.

These findings probably reflect the actual reduction in non-covid infections, but are likely to be temporary, said US researchers in the linked editorial.

“The incidence of viral infections will probably increase” as the population strengthens protection from covid-19 through natural infections and vaccinations and takes measures such as blockades, mask mandates, and ease of social distance. Those people write.

Understanding which mitigation strategy was most effective is the key to a safe resumption, and as many measures have been mitigated globally, “which intervention has the greatest benefit to widespread infections.” We are looking for research that “determines what to bring.”