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Observational Study
. 2022 Jan 24;22(1):84.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07041-x.

Bronchiolitis, epidemiological changes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Carmina Guitart  1   2 , Sara Bobillo-Perez  3   4 , Carme Alejandre  1   2 , Georgina Armero  5 , Cristian Launes  5 , Francisco Jose Cambra  1 , Monica Balaguer #  1   2 , Iolanda Jordan #  1   2   5   6 ; Hospital Network for R. S. V. surveillance in Catalonia
Collaborators, Affiliations
Observational Study

Bronchiolitis, epidemiological changes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Carmina Guitart et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Bronchiolitis is the most common viral infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants under 2 years of age. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the seasonal bronchiolitis peaks before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Methods: Descriptive, prospective, and observational study. Patients with severe bronchiolitis admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a referral tertiary hospital between September 2010 and June 2021 were included. Demographic data were collected. Viral laboratory-confirmation was carried out. Each season was analyzed and compared. The daily average temperature was collected.

Results: 1116 patients were recruited, 58.2% of them males. The median age was 49 days. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was isolated in 782 cases (70.1%). In April 2021, the first and only case of bronchiolitis caused by SARS-CoV-2 was identified. The pre- and post-pandemic periods were compared. There were statistically significant differences regarding: age, 47 vs. 73 days (p = 0.006), PICU and hospital length of stay (p = 0.024 and p = 0.001, respectively), and etiology (p = 0.031). The peak for bronchiolitis in 2020 was non-existent before week 52. A delayed peak was seen around week 26/2021. The mean temperature during the epidemic peak was 10ºC for the years of the last decade and is 23ºC for the present season.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has led to a clearly observable epidemiological change regarding acute bronchiolitis, which should be studied in detail. The influence of the environmental temperature does not seem to determine the viral circulation.

Keywords: Bronchiolitis; Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs); Pandemic; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Analysis of viral incidence for each year
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The total yearly number of bronchiolitis patients admitted to the PICU for each season, from 2010 to 2021
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The incidence curve of each season showing the peak, from 2010 to 2021, with the mean temperature for the month
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Comparison between the mean of the incidence curve showing the peak from 2010 to 2020 and the incidence curve showing the peak for 2021
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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