RSV surge could delay some pediatric surgeries at Maine hospitals

Children’s wards at Maine hospitals are straining to cope with a continued surge in RSV cases and may soon start postponing elective surgeries, hospital officials said Friday.

“Our inpatient and outpatient capacity is stretched to the limitsaid Dr. Mary Ottolini, Chief of Pediatrics at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland. “You may need to postpone non-urgent surgery.”

Officials from Maine’s two largest health systems, Northern Light Health and MaineHealth, held a joint press conference on Friday to sound the alarm about how RSV, the respiratory syncytial virus, is straining hospital capacity. I was. The problem has gotten worse over the past two weeks, they said.

Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital is part of the MaineHealth network. A Northern Light Health official said elective pediatric surgery could be postponed at hospitals in the network, but that option is not currently being reviewed.

Caroline Cornish, spokeswoman for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center, said it had not yet decided which surgeries might be postponed.

Hospital officials are working to free up capacity in a variety of ways, including moving some older pediatric patients to adult wards.

Ottorini said all 87 pediatric beds at the children’s hospital were filled. Not all of these patients have respiratory disease, but he is the driving force behind the increase in pediatric hospitalizations.

Hospital officials say the situation is the same at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where nearly all 37 pediatric beds are full. There is no official state count for RSV because patients are not routinely tested for the virus.

Unlike influenza and COVID-19, there are no vaccines or effective treatments for RSV, so testing for RSV is infrequent. Therefore, the test results do not change the treatment of the disease. Scientists are working on his RSV vaccine, which could be developed within the next few years, federal officials said.

Respiratory syncytial virus is a common virus that usually circulates each winter. Older children and adults who become infected develop mild, cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, cough, and congestion. However, in very young children, babies and toddlers, it can cause more serious breathing problems and lead to pneumonia.

RSV is most dangerous to infants under the age of 1 month. If a child has trouble breathing, hospitalization may be required, and the sick child can be given supplemental oxygen or, in very rare cases, a ventilator.

Dr. Jonathan Wood, a pediatric critical care physician at Northern Lights Eastern Maine Medical Center, said RSV usually peaks in December or January, so it’s alarming to see so many cases in early November. I said. Public health experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed the seasonality of some illnesses because children weren’t exposed to other viruses and didn’t develop immunity.

“The pandemic turned everything upside down,” said Wood.

said Dora Anne Mills, Ph.D., chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth, Maine Medical Center’s parent organization. Suddenly more RSVs started circulating. ”

Flu and other respiratory illnesses have also been curbed over the past two winters by people wearing masks and practicing social distancing. But now, masks are no longer mandatory, and most people are not wearing them even in crowded indoor places, increasing the chances of the virus being transmitted to humans.

“You never know what’s going to happen[this winter],” said Wood. “Maybe[RSV]will burn out. I know my immunity isn’t great.”

Wood et al. worry that hospitals will be hit by the “triple epidemic” of influenza, RSV and COVID-19 simultaneously, further straining hospital capacity.

Hospital officials said people should be vaccinated against flu and COVID-19, practice good hygiene and stay home when sick. Parents suspected of having child with RSV should first contact their doctor before taking their child to the hospital.

Dr. James Jarvis, incident commander for Northern Light Health, the parent company of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and Mercy Hospital in Portland, urged people to “keep vigilance.”

“Wash your hands or use sanitizer frequently, point your coughs and sneezes into your elbow or a tissue, or wear a mask in all public places indoors,” Jarvis said. . “Stay home if you’re not feeling well and get your COVID-19 and flu shots.”

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