Several respiratory diseases in children are prevalent and more children are going to the hospital because of it.
Hospitals across the country, including Lynchburg General Hospital, are seeing a surge in common respiratory illnesses that can cause serious respiratory problems in babies.
RSV cases dropped dramatically two years ago as the coronavirus pandemic closed schools, nurseries and businesses. noticed a surprising increase in
RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus. This is a common childhood virus that can seriously affect the health of young children.
Dr. Travis Engel, director of pediatrics at Centra Health, said the virus infects the cells that line the airways all the way to the lungs.
“If a child becomes infected with RSV, they can develop a condition called bronchiolitis, in which the small airways become inflamed and significant congestion develops due to the infected cells.
People are also reading…
According to information provided by the hospital system, hospitals in Centra have seen a steady increase in the number of pediatric patients from 39 in February to 82 so far in November, with a third of these patients One to half have been shown to be RSV positive.
Kim Foster, population health manager for the Virginia Department of Health’s Central Virginia Health District, said RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms. , fever, cough, congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and in infants, difficulty and poor feeding. Breathing may become faster or shorter, and may progress to more serious symptoms such as wheezing. RSV can be more dangerous to young infants and people with weakened immune systems.
Although the most severely ill children tend to be those up to 6 months of age, RSV is the leading reason for hospitalization in children up to 2 years of age, especially during the winter months.
“Infants born prematurely or with underlying heart or lung disease are at the highest risk of needing hospitalization,” Engel said. “One of the things we’re seeing this year is that children who are usually outside the typical high-risk age group are getting RSV and a second virus, often the flu.
Engel said this increases the risk of serious illness requiring hospitalization.
Adolescents and adults can, and often do, become infected with RSV with the same seasonal frequency as younger children, even if they have been previously infected.
Older children and adults are less likely to have severe coughs because they cough harder, have wider airways, are better able to manage mucus and secretions, and are able to keep their airways clear, he said.
“Respiratory syncytial virus prevention focuses on minimizing exposure of children in high-risk groups. “This can be difficult in homes with multiple children, and the virus is often ping-ponged to everyone in the house.” .”
In some cases, individuals in the same household may only recover and reinfect from another family member.
Engel said there is a drug called Synagis that is used to prevent RSV. Generally available only to patients at highest risk of suffering from the most severe disease.
“In general, if you have a child who is less than 12 months old and was born before 32 weeks of gestation, you should discuss this with your pediatrician to see if this medicine is right for your child.” This is not a vaccination and should be injected monthly during peak RSV season, usually October to March.”
Engel said it’s worth noting that many respiratory viruses cause a disease process called bronchiolitis, with RSV tending to be the primary culprit. The terms are often used interchangeably.
The main symptoms of bronchiolitis caused by RSV include congestion, fever, decreased food intake, decreased number of wet diapers, dyspnea and sometimes wheezing.
He said it often starts out fairly mild and peaks on days four to six of the illness.
“For this reason, many parents will be seen in a pediatrician’s office, urgent care, or emergency department early in an illness that was fairly mild and did not require hospitalization.” , the symptoms may become so severe that hospitalization may be required.”
Most children with bronchiolitis caused by RSV don’t need hospitalization, he said. Supportive care instructions will be given. This includes nasal suctioning, providing medications to control heat and comfort, and keeping children from becoming dehydrated.
There are four main reasons why children need to be hospitalized with RSV infection. They have low oxygen saturation and need extra oxygen. Severe congestion requiring frequent suctioning by a specially trained nurse or respiratory therapist, or inability to rehydrate and requiring intravenous fluids.
“Usually it’s not just one of these reasons, but rather a combination of them,” says Engel. “In some cases, the pediatric hospitalist and the emergency room doctor will discuss and decide to keep the child under observation overnight so that it does not get worse. help ensure that you receive the care you need.
“Some children need respiratory therapy, but not always, and not all children benefit,” he said. “Some children will develop secondary bacterial pneumonia that requires antibiotics, but this is not always the case. I try to monitor all of these things.”
There are no specific drugs used to treat RSV, and all the care Centra provides simply supports patients while their bodies work to fight the virus, he said. I was.
Dr. Engel says most children recover within seven to 10 days after symptoms begin. Children under 3 months old, those with underlying heart or lung disease, and those born prematurely often have a longer recovery time. Cough is usually the last thing to go away, sometimes lasting 2-4 weeks.
