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. 2021 Jun;180(6):1955-1963.
doi: 10.1007/s00431-021-03934-2. Epub 2021 Feb 8.

Consequences of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) lockdown on infection-related hospitalizations among the pediatric population in Denmark

Laura Bech Polcwiartek  1 , Christoffer Polcwiartek  2 , Mikkel Porsborg Andersen  3 , Lauge Østergaard  4 , Marcella D Broccia  3   5 , Gunnar H Gislason  6   7 , Lars Køber  4 , Christian Torp-Pedersen  2   3 , Morten Schou  7 , Emil Fosbøl  4 , Kristian Kragholm  2   8   9 , Søren Hagstrøm  10   11   12
Affiliations

Consequences of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) lockdown on infection-related hospitalizations among the pediatric population in Denmark

Laura Bech Polcwiartek et al. Eur J Pediatr. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

It remains unknown how Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) prevention measures implemented on March 12, 2020, have affected the rate of pediatric infection-related hospitalizations in Denmark. Therefore, we investigated the rate of pediatric infection-related hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a retrospective cohort design and included all Danish children < 18 years. Infection-related hospitalizations were assessed during study periods in 2020 vs. 2018/2019, and we computed incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Poisson regression. In the 2020 study period, 3093 children were hospitalized with an infection, while the corresponding figures for 2018 and 2019 study periods were 4824 and 3830, respectively. When comparing the 2020 to the 2018/2019 study period prior to nationwide lockdown, we observed a decline in infection-related hospitalizations (12.68 (95% CI, 12.22-13.16) vs. 15.49 (95% CI, 15.12-15.86) per 1000 person-years). We further observed decreased IRRs, especially during the lockdown period (week 11: 0.64 (95% CI, 0.55-0.75); week 12: 0.26 (95% CI, 0.21-0.33); week 13: 0.13 (95% CI, 0.10-0.19)).Conclusion: The rate of pediatric infection-related hospitalizations in Denmark declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to that in 2018/2019, with a 36% decline during initiation of the nationwide lockdown period. What is Known: • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries have implemented mitigation strategies such as lockdown of non-critical business functions. Most of these strategies have previously been proven effective on interruption of infection transmission. • It remains unclear how the mitigation strategies have affected the rate of pediatric infection-related hospitalizations. What is New: • Insight on how COVID-19 prevention measures have affected the frequency of infection-related hospitalization. • Valuable knowledge on how to act in potential future pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; Epidemiology; Infections; Pediatric.

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Conflict of interest statement

CP reported receiving speaking fees from Lundbeck Pharma A/S and research grants from the Danish Heart Foundation and the Eva and Henry Frænkel Memorial Foundation. GHG reported receiving research grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bayer. LK reported receiving lecture fees from Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. CT-P reported receiving research grants from Bayer. EF reported receiving independent research grant from Janssen Pharmaceutical and BMS. KK reported receiving speaking fees from Novartis and research grants from the Laerdal Foundation. LBP, MPA, LØ, MDB, MS, and SH declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Rates of infection-related hospitalizations, where children can appear only once per study period (a), respiratory infection-related hospitalizations, where children can appear multiple time per infection type (b), and gastrointestinal infection-related hospitalizations, where children can appear multiple time per infection type (c) by weeks stratified by years
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Incidence rate ratios for infection-related hospitalizations for each week during the 2020 study period compared to that during the 2018/2019 study period. Abbreviations: CI confidence interval, IRR incidence rate ratio
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