Pre-admission virus detection during the COVID-19 pandemic in children with and without symptoms of infection.
Acta Paediatr
; 113(7): 1679-1684, 2024 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38445712
ABSTRACT
AIM:
Pre-admission viral screening is used only in exceptional situations such as pandemics. We therefore evaluated pre-admission screening for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing epidemiology and clinical features of admitted children.METHODS:
Children were screened at a paediatric emergency department from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2022 by nasopharyngeal sampling and polymerase chain reaction kit. We retrospectively retrieved positive results from the laboratory and scrutinised charts of admitted children.RESULTS:
Out of 15 927 screened children, 522, 127 and 572 were positive and admitted with RSV, influenza A or SARS-CoV-2, respectively. Of these, 29 (5.6%), 26 (24.1%) and 245 (44.8%) were incidental findings, lacking symptoms of infection. RSV and influenza A were initially absent but re-emerged in the autumn of 2021. The rate of COVID-19 rose when the Omicron variant emerged in December 2021. The median age of children with RSV was 0.3 years, of those with influenza A 6.7 years and of those with COVID-19 1.6 years. Major complications were rare.CONCLUSION:
Frequent incidental detections of SARS-CoV-2 likely reflected widespread presence of a mild infection. Clinically, COVID-19 was like other viral respiratory infections in children.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Infecciones por Virus Sincitial Respiratorio
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Gripe Humana
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COVID-19
Límite:
Adolescent
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Newborn
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Acta Paediatr
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Suecia