Respiratory syncytial virus: can we still believe that after pandemic bronchiolitis is not a critical issue for public health?

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection among infants and young children, resulting in annual epidemics worldwide. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-pharmacological interventions were applied, interfering with the circulation of most respiratory viruses, including RSV. The aim of this study is to analyze the RSV infection trend among hospitalized infants during the actual epidemic season (2022-2023) in comparison with the last pre-pandemic season (2018-2019), in order to outline whether significant differences emerge due to COVID-19 pandemia. We retrospectively reviewed medical data on infants hospitalized at the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital with diagnosis of bronchiolitis in the current epidemic season and in the last pre-pandemic season, 2018-2019. RSV remains the main etiological agent of bronchiolitis in terms of frequency and severity of infections in the ongoing epidemic season. The first RSV case of the 2022-2023 season was detected at week 42 vs week 47 in the 2018-2019 season. The length of epidemic season was of 17 weeks in 2022-2023 vs 18 weeks in 2018-2019. Comparing the two seasons, age at admission was significantly higher in the current season (median age 2022-2023 65 days vs median age 2018-2019 58 days), but the disease severity was similar.       Conclusions: The 2022-2023 bronchiolitis season in Italy started earlier than the usual pre-pandemic seasons but seasonality pattern may be going back to the pre-pandemic one. This season was not more severe than the previous ones. The impact of RSV disease on health care systems and costs remains a critical issue. What is Known: • RSV is one of the major leading causes of hospitalization among children aged less than 3 months. SarsCOV2 pandemic interfered with the seasonal circulation of most respiratory viruses, Including RSV. What is New: • The 2022-2023 bronchiolitis season in Italy started and peaked earlier than the usual pre-pandemic seasons but seasonality pattern may be realigning to the pre-pandemic one. The impact of RSV disease on health care systems and costs is concerning.

Children and Adolescent's Perception of Media Device Use Consequences.

Media device (MD) use is increasing worldwide among children. Adolescents and young children spend a lot of time using MD, Internet, and social networks. The age of initial use is getting lower to 12 years old. The aim of this research is to study children's use and perception of MD. The Italian Paediatric Society (SIP) conducted a Survey on Italian children in collaboration with Skuola.net using an online questionnaire. A total of 10,000 questionnaires were completed. Children admitted they spend more than 3 h (41%), more than 2 h (29%), more than 1 h (21%) and less than 1 h (9%) daily. Problematic MD use has been found with children using MD before sleeping (38%), during school (24%), and at wake up in the morning (21%). Addiction was documented in 14% of adolescents. Among the reported consequences, low academic outcomes, and reduced concentration (24%), neck and back pain (12%), insomnia (10%), and mood disturbances (7%) were referred. Adolescents may have a low perception of the risks related to excessive MD. The duration of time spent using media devices is a main risk factor. In this context, parents should strongly discourage excessive MD use, mainly during school, at bedtime, and wake-up. Additionally, parents should be informed and start conversations with their children on the potential negative effects of prolonged MD use.

The Disappearance of Respiratory Viruses in Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Social distancing measures are used to reduce the spreading of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of local restrictions on the transmission of respiratory virus infections. METHODS: we retrospectively analyzed the nasopharyngeal samples of all patients (0-18 years old) admitted with respiratory symptoms in a large Italian tertiary hospital during the last three seasons from 2018 to 2021. RESULTS: A strong reduction in all viral respiratory infections was observed in the last season (2020-2021) compared to the two previous seasons (-79.69% and -80.66%, respectively). In particular, we found that during the epidemic period 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, the total number of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases was, respectively 726 and 689, while in the last season a total of five cases was detected. In the first months of 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, the total flu infections were 240 and 354, respectively, while in the last season we did not detect any influenza virus. As other viruses, the presence of Rhinovirus declined, but to a lesser extent: a total of 488 cases were assessed compared to the 1030 and 1165 cases of the two previous respective epidemic seasons. CONCLUSIONS: Public health interventions and distancing (including continuous use of face masks) settled to counter the pandemic spread of COVID-19 had a macroscopic impact on all respiratory virus transmission and related diseases, with a partial exception of Rhinovirus. The absence of viruses' circulation could result in a lack of immunity and increased susceptibility to serious infections in the next seasons.

Pertussis in early life: underdiagnosed, severe, and risky disease. A seven-year experience in a pediatric tertiary-care hospital.

AIM: Pertussis continues to be a common worldwide infection in pediatric and adult populations.We aimed to study epidemiological and clinical characteristics of infants and children admitted for pertussis to a tertiary-care hospital and to investigate the risk factors for pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: With a retrospective study, we analyzed all medical reports of patients admitted to Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital in Rome from January 2011 to December 2018 with a diagnosis of pertussis. RESULTS: We examined 195 patients. The majority of hospitalized children (66.15%) were <3 months of age. No mother had received pertussis containing vaccine during pregnancy. Ten cases required admission in PICU. The age at admission was lower in PICU patients with respect to ward patients (42.8 vs 240 days; p < .0007), length of hospital stay was longer in PICU group (24.7 vs 7.52 days; p < .003). Patients who needed PICU admission had greater white blood cell count at hospital admission compared with those hospitalized in the pediatric ward. One infant died and one had encephalitis. CONCLUSIONS: Pertussis is a remerging disease. In infants, it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In recent years, many countries have implemented different vaccination strategies and public health measures to prevent the increase in pertussis cases. Maternal vaccination has been shown to be highly protective for infants <3 months of age before they can develop their own immunity via vaccination.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis in Infancy: The Acute Hospitalization Cost.

Introduction: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis is among the leading causes of hospitalization in infants. Prophylaxis with palivizumab may reduce RSV infection, but its prescription is restricted to high-risk groups. The aim of the study is to retrospectively determine acute hospitalization costs of bronchiolitis. Materials and methods: Infants aged 1 month-1 year, admitted to Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, Rome, Italy, with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis from January 1 till December 31, 2017, were included in the study. Results: A total of 531 patients were enrolled in the study, and the mean age was 78.75 days. The main etiologic agent causing bronchiolitis was RSV, accounting for 58.38% of infections. The total cost of bronchiolitis hospitalization was 2,958,786 euros. The mean cost per patient was significantly higher in the case of RSV (5,753.43 ± 2,041.62 euros) compared to other etiology (5,395.15 ± 2,040.87 euros) (p = 0.04). Discussion: The study confirms the high hospitalization cost associated with bronchiolitis. In detail, in the case of RSV etiology, the cost was higher compared to other etiology, which is likely due to the longer hospitalization and the more frequent admission to the intensive cure department. Conclusion: This study highlights that bronchiolitis is an important cost item even in a tertiary hospital and that cost-effective interventions targeting RSV are increasingly urgent.