Abstract

Background

Mitigation measures implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remarkably reduced the incidence of infectious diseases among children. However, a re-emergence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was observed in 2021 in Japan. We compared the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with RSV infection before and during COVID-19.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled children aged <6 years who were hospitalized with RSV infection in 18 hospitals and compared their clinical characteristics before (January 2019 to April 2020, 1675 patients) and during COVID-19 (September 2020 to December 2021, 1297 patients).

Results

The mean age of patients with RSV infection was significantly higher during COVID-19 than before (17.4 vs 13.7 months, P < .001). Compared with before COVID-19, a 2.6-fold increase in RSV cases in the 2–5 years age group was observed from sentinel surveillance during COVID-19, whereas a 1.2-fold increase was noted in the same age group among hospitalized patients. On average for all patients, consolidation shadows obtained on radiography were less frequently observed (26.1 vs 29.6%, P = .04), and reduced respiratory assistance (42.2% vs 48.7%, P < .001) and hospitalization stay (5.7 vs 6.0 days, P < .001) was required in patients with RSV infection during COVID-19.

Conclusions

Coronavirus disease 2019 and social activity restriction caused epidemiological changes in pediatric RSV infections, and a majority of patients with RSV infection aged ≥2 years did not develop severe symptoms requiring hospitalization. The RSV symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak were equivalent to or milder than in the previous seasons.

Details

Title
Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on the Clinical Features of Pediatric Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Japan
Author
Ozeki, Shoko 1 ; Kawada, Jun-ichi 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Yamashita, Daiki 1 ; Yasufuku, Chika 1 ; Akano, Takuya 1 ; Kato, Masahiro 1 ; Suzuki, Konomi 1 ; Tano, Chihiro 1 ; Matsumoto, Kazuki 1 ; Shu-hei Mizutani 1 ; Mori, Ayumi 1 ; Nishio, Nobuhiro 1 ; Kidokoro, Hiroyuki 1 ; Yasui, Yoshihiro 2 ; Takahashi, Yoshiyuki 1 ; Sato, Yoshiaki 1 ; Anna Shiraki Drs; Ueda, Kazuto; Shotaro Ando Drs; Nagai, Noriko; Aoshima, Tsutomu, Dr; Michio Suzuki Drs; Kubota, Tetsuo; Suzuki, Motomasa, Dr; Doi, Satoru, Dr; Daichi Fukumi Drs; Sugiyama, Yuichiro; Morishita, Masafumi, Dr; Nishimura, Naoko; Mizuki Takagi Drs; Kurahashi, Hirokazu; Yohei Takeuchi Drs; Kuraishi, Kenji; Shinohara, Osamu, Dr; Kawabe, Takashi, Dr; Watanabe, Nobuhiro, Dr; Shinji Hasegawa Drs; Muto, Taichiro; Kido, Shinji, Dr; Hara, Shinya; Hoshino, Shin

1  Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine , Nagoya , Japan 
2  Department of Surveillance and Information, Aichi Prefectural Institute of Public Health , Nagoya , Japan 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
Nov 2022
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
23288957
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofac562
ProQuest document ID
3171168840
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.