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BACKGROUND: Severe respiratory infections, including pneumonia or bronchiolitis, caused by RSV can range from mild upper respiratory tract infections to those leading to hospitalization and serious complications such as respiratory failure in children. High-risk groups, such as premature infants and infants with underlying medical conditions, have a higher susceptibility to severe RSV disease. We conducted a retrospective study from years 2015 to 2022 in the Local Health Authority (LHA) of Pescara that counts about 320,000 inhabitants, with the aim to evaluate the burden of RSV infection, focusing on the incidence, hospitalization, and characteristics that may prolong hospital stays. METHODS: All hospitalizations from 2015 to 2022 were extracted from the hospital discharge record. The monthly hospitalization rates were calculated and standardized by gender and age for the population resident in the Province of Pescara on 1 January 2015. RESULTS: During the study period, 31,837 admissions were reported among patients aged less than 6 years. Of those, 520 hospitalizations were referred for bronchiolitis. Monthly admission rates highlighted the seasonality of bronchiolitis admissions, with higher rates in the months from December to March in all study years included. The winter seasons of years 2021 and 2022 reported a surge in bronchiolitis incidence, with a rate of 4.0/1000 (95% CI 2.964-5.146) in December 2021 and 4.0 (95% CI 2.891-5.020) in December 2022. CONCLUSIONS: Bronchiolitis represents an important cause of hospitalization among patients aged less than 6 years. The incidence was particularly increased during the winter seasons in years 2021 and 2022.
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Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) has high worldwide incidence and related morbidity and mortality, particularly among children and geriatric patients. SP infection could manifest with pneumonia, bacteremia, sepsis, meningitis, and osteomyelitis. This was a retrospective study aimed at evaluating the incidence, comorbidities, and factors associated with in-hospital mortality of pneumococcal disease-related hospitalization in a province in southern Italy from the years 2015 to 2022. This study was performed in the Local Health Authority (LHA) of Pescara. Data were collected from hospital discharge records (HDRs): this database is composed of 288,110 discharge records from LHA Pescara's hospitals from 2015 to 2022. Streptococcus Pneumoniae-related hospitalizations were about 5% of the hospitalizations; 67% of these were without comorbidities; 21% were with one comorbidity; and 13% were with two or more comorbidities. Regarding mortality of SP infection, the most affected age group was older people, with the percentage of cases among the over-65s being more than 50% compared to the other age groups. HDRs represent a valid and useful epidemiological tool for evaluating the direct impact of pneumococcal disease on the population and also indirectly for evaluating the effectiveness of vaccination strategies and directing them.
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(1) Background: Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children worldwide. Despite the proven benefits of vaccination, vaccine hesitancy and refusal remains a significant barrier to achieving high vaccination coverage in many countries, such as Italy. (2) Methods: An online survey was conducted among women aged between 18 and 50 years from Abruzzo Region, Italy. The survey was composed of two main sections: demographic characteristics and attitudes and knowledge about rotavirus vaccination, based on a five-point Likert scale. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors associated with willingness to get the rotavirus vaccination. (3) Results: A total of 414 women were enrolled in the study. Women who were unaware of rotavirus more frequently had a lower education level (university degree 62.5% vs. 78.7%, p = 0.004) and reported having no children (p < 0.001). About half of the enrolled women thought that rotavirus infection is dangerous (190, 55.6%) and that rotavirus can cause a serious illness (201, 58.8%). Regarding associated factors, women informed by a physician were more likely get a vaccination compared to women informed by friends or relatives (OR 34.35, 95% CI 7.12-98.98, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The present study showed low levels of knowledge and attitudes towards rotavirus vaccination. These results highlight the need for developing and improving additional public education programs for parents.
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Following the pandemic scenario, researchers from all over the world, including Italians, have undertaken fervent research activity using the epidemiological data available on the sites of government and national and international research institutes. The objectives of our study were: (1) to analyze the load and trend of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, from the beginning to October 2021; (2) to analyze vaccination coverage by age groups and types of vaccines administered and check how the vaccination campaign has influenced the course of the disease and deaths; (3) to evaluate the Italian situation in the European context, comparing the incidence and mortality of Italy with respect to European countries; (4) finally, to evaluate how much vaccination coverage may have had an effect on mortality in the various European countries. Databases were structured to archive Italian and European COVID-19 data provided by Our World in Data, and data came from the Ministry of Health, to evaluate percentage of vaccines administered. The monthly trend of the cumulative incidence per 100,000 inhabitants in the period January 2020-October 2021 was evaluated. It is important to underline 3 peaks of incidence and mortality rates that occurred during the three waves of COVID-19: March-April-May 2020, October-November-December 2020, and March-April-May 2021. There is a slight increase in incidence in August 2021 and in mortality in September 2021. The three mortality rate peaks, related to the three waves of COVID-19, are always higher in Italy than in Europe, particularly in April 2020, December 2020, and March 2021. From May 2021 to October 2021, the mortality trend reversed, and it turned out to be higher in Europe than in Italy. Regarding vaccination, Italy currently has an important coverage, not only in the most fragile population, where it exceeds 90%, but also in the 12-19 age group, with percentages above 65%. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was used widely in all age groups (first and second dose), with highest administration in 12-19 age groups and 80+, while the lowest was recorded in the 70-79 age group. In conclusion, these data confirm the importance of vaccination in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.