Pediatria e Terapêutica
Acesso livre
ISSN: 2161-0665
ISSN: 2161-0665
Alaa Abuzaid1*, Jemila James2, Nayla Alfaw3, Alan Finan3
Objective: To assess the impact of precautionary measures taken to curb the transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on hospitalization rates in children due to other (non-COVID-19) respiratory viral infections. Study design and setting: A retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care centre, Bahrain which included children up to 14 years old who were hospitalised with symptoms suggesting respiratory viral infections and had respiratory viral panel PCR tested during their admission. The study cohort was extracted from three winter seasons in Bahrain (pre-pandemic, peri-pandemic and post-pandemic). The occurrence of positive viral panel PCR for nonCOVID-19 respiratory viral infections during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic and post pandemic was analysed and compared with the pre-pandemic winter seasons. Results: The study identified 1008 paediatric admissions over the three study periods. A significant reduction in the total admissions to the paediatric ward was observed during the peak pandemic period. Only 62 children admitted during the peak pandemic winter compared to 693 children admitted to the paediatric ward during the pre-pandemic winter season, and 253 children admitted during the post-pandemic winter seasons of Bahrain. The study has shown an incidence reduction of 89% (RR 0.11 (95% CI 0.016 to 0.768) p=0.0259) and 60% (RR 0.40 (95% CI 0.242 to 0.670) p=0.0005) in the occurrence of RSV infection among the admitted children during the peripandemic and post-pandemic winter periods respectively. There was a 93% reduction (RR 0.07 (95% CI 0.0045 to 1.311) p=0.0611) and 71% reduction (RR 0.29 (95% CI 0.142 to 0.580) p<0.0005) in the incidence of influenza virus infection in admitted children during the pandemic and post pandemic periods respectively. On the other hand, the identification of human rhinovirus/ enterovirus was found to be nearly 4 times (RR 4.11 (95% CI 2.531 to 6.683) p<0.0001) and 3 times more likely (RR 3.0 (95% CI 2.063 to 4.380) p<0.0001) during the pandemic and postpandemic winter respectively. Conclusion: The study showed the impact of the precautionary measures on the occurrence of non-COVID-19 respiratory viral infections that led to hospitalisation in children. The overall hospitalisation rate was reduced during the study period compared to the period when children were not exposed to the SARS-CoV-19 infection. The results could be a useful tool for the future discussion on quality assurance of health services recommended for use in schools and other institutions where large number of people gathers facilitating viral transmission.