Impact of COVID-19 mitigation strategies on asthma hospitalizations in Brazil.

Background: In 2020, a unique social experience was provided by the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Interventions to tackle the pandemic may affect the burden of other respiratory diseases. Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 mitigation strategies on hospitalizations for asthma in children aged between 1 and 14 years, adults aged between 20 and 59 years, and elderly older than 60 years. Methods: Data from hospital admissions for asthma were obtained from the Department of Informatics of Brazilian Public Health System database in the period between January 2016 and December 2020 and analyzed by age groups. To evaluate the effect of containment measures on the incidence of asthma and respiratory system diseases (total), the absolute reduction and relative reduction were calculated by analyzing the subsets from 2016 to 2019 versus 2020. Results: There was a significant reduction in the average incidence of hospitalizations in 2020, with numbers ranging from -59% (incidence rate ratio, 0.41 [0.37-0.45]) for age 1 to 14 years (prepandemic 1,393.2/100,000 vs pandemic 574.9/100.000), -37% (incidence rate ratio, 0.63 [0.49-0.80]) for age 20 to 59 years (prepandemic 160.2/100,000 vs pandemic 101.1/100,000), and -60% (incidence rate ratio, 0.40 [0.33-0.47]) for older than 60 years (prepandemic 460.6/100,000 vs pandemic 185.3/100,000). Conclusions: Ashtma hospitalizations decreased in 2020, especially in the pediatric group and the older group during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be associated with the reduction in the incidence of many respiratory viral infections.

Impact of nonpharmacological COVID-19 interventions in hospitalizations for childhood pneumonia in Brazil.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The knowledge about the impact of the nonpharmacological measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic can give insight into ways in which they can also be applied for other respiratory diseases. To assess the impact of containment measures of the COVID-19 pandemic on pneumonia hospitalizations in children from 0 to 14 years of age in Brazil. METHODS: Data from hospital admissions for pneumonia were obtained from the Department of Informatics of Brazilian Public Health System database in the period of 2015-2020 and analyzed by macroregions and age groups. To evaluate the effect of containment measures, on the incidence of pneumonia, the absolute reduction and relative reduction were calculated by analyzing the subsets 2015-2019 vs. 2020. RESULTS: Comparing the subsets of April-August 2015-2019 vs. April-August 2020 for Brazil (total), there was an significant reduction in the average incidence of hospitalizations, with numbers ranging from -82% [IRR 0.17 (0.14-0.21)] for <4 years (prepandemic 741.8/100,000 vs. pandemic 132.7/100.000), -83% [IRR 0.17 (0.10-0.27)] for 5-9 years (prepandemic 113.6/100,000 vs. pandemic 19.6/100.000), -77% [IRR 0.23 (0.11-0.46)] for 10-14 (prepandemic 42.0/100,000 vs. pandemic 9.8/100.000) and -82% [IRR 0.18 (0.15-0.21)] for all children ≤14 years (prepandemic 897.4/100,000 vs. pandemic 162.1/100.000). CONCLUSION: We found a significant decrease in cases of all cause pneumonia in children under 14 years and especially in the age group <9 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be associated with the nonpharmacological measures applied to control the SARS-CoV-2.

Early Impact of Social Distancing in Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Hospitalizations for Acute Bronchiolitis in Infants in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Interventions to tackle the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may affect the burden of other respiratory diseases. Considering the repercussions of these unique social experiences to infant health, this study aims to assess the early impact of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in hospital admissions for acute bronchiolitis. METHODS: Data from hospitalizations of acute bronchiolitis in infants <1 year of age were obtained from the Department of Informatics of the Brazilian Public Health database for the period between 2016 and 2020. These data were also analyzed by macroregions of Brazil (North, Northeast, Southeast, South, and Midwest). To evaluate the effect of social distancing strategy on the incidence of acute bronchiolitis, the absolute and relative reductions were calculated by analyzing the yearly subsets of 2016 vs 2020, 2017 vs 2020, 2018 vs 2020, and 2019 vs 2020. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in all comparisons, ranging from -78% (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.22 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .20-.24]) in 2016 vs 2020 to -85% (IRR, 0.15 [95% CI, .13-.16]) in 2019 vs 2020, for the data from Brazil. For analyses by macroregions, the reduction varied from -58% (IRR, 0.41 [95% CI, .37-.45]) in the Midwest in 2016 vs 2020 to -93% (IRR, 0.07 [95% CI, .06-.08]) in the South in 2019 vs 2020. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant reduction in hospitalization for acute bronchiolitis in children <1 year old in Brazil, on the order of >70% for most analysis. Our data suggest an important impact of social distancing on reducing the transmission of viruses related to acute bronchiolitis. Such knowledge may guide strategies for prevention of viral spread.

Impact of maternal dTpa vaccination on the incidence of pertussis in young infants.

INTRODUCTION: Pertussis is an important public health problem worldwide, especially in infants. An increase in the incidence in many countries occurred after 2010, including Brazil. In 2013, dTpa vaccine was introduced in the Brazil national immunization schedule of pregnant women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the national trends in the incidence of pertussis in Brazil in children under 1 year old, and the impact of the introduction of dTpa vaccine during pregnancy. METHODS: The incidence of hospitalizations and non-hospitalized confirmed cases of pertussis in neonates (< 1 month age) and young infants (1 month-< 1 year age) were analyzed, comparing the incidence in pre maternal vaccination (2011-2013) with the post-vaccination (2015-2017). We used non-respiratory hospitalizations as comparison, during the same period. A database of the Brazilian Ministry of Health (DATASUS) was used to analyze cases from 2007 to 2017 and the subsets of 2011-2013 and 2015-2017, after Pertussis resurgence. The vaccination data was accessed through the link of the Information System of the National Immunization Program (pni.datasus.gov.br). RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2017, 17,818 children under one year of age were hospitalized due to pertussis in Brazil. In the pre maternal vaccination period 2011-2013, the mean annual incidence of non-hospitalized confirmed cases of pertussis in children under 1 month was 722.2 / 100,000 and in the period of 2015-2017 the average was 377.3 / 100,000, representing a decrease of 47.7% [IRR 0.52 (0.46-0.59)]. At those periods of time, the average incidence per year for children of one month-< 1 year aged was 64.9 / 100,000 (2011-2013) and 29.3 / 100,000 (2015-2017) [IRR 0.45 (CI 0.29-0.69)]. CONCLUSION: Vaccination of pregnant woman coincides with the reduction in the number of cases of pertussis in children under 1 month of age from 2015. Immunization of pregnant woman seems to have an important impact on the prevention of the disease in young infants who have not yet received their own pertussis vaccine.

Immunity After Childhood Vaccinations in Perinatally HIV-exposed Children With and Without HIV Infection in Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV) children are at risk for under-vaccination and poor vaccine response at 4 years of age. Childhood vaccine coverage and immune response were compared between PHIV and HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children in Latin America and the Caribbean. METHODS: PHIV and HEU children were enrolled prospectively at 15 sites from 2002 to 2009. Full vaccination by age 4 years was defined as: 3 hepatitis B virus vaccine doses; 4 tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine doses; 3 doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine by age 12 months or ≥1 dose given after age 12 months; one measles-containing vaccine dose; one rubella-containing vaccine dose. Immunity was defined by serum antibody titer. Fisher exact test (for categorical measures) and t test (for continuous measures) were used for comparisons. RESULTS: Among 519 children seen at age 4 years, 191 had serum specimens available (137 PHIV, 54 HEU). Among those with specimens available, 29.3% initiated combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) <12 months of age, 30.9% initiated at ≥12 months of age, and 39.8% had not received cART by the time they were seen at 4 years of age. At 4 years of age, 59.9% were on PI-containing cART (cART/PI), and 20.4% were on no ART. PHIV children were less likely than HEU children to be fully vaccinated for tetanus (55.5% vs. 77.8%, P = 0.005) and measles and rubella (both 70.1% vs. 94.4%, P < 0.001). Among those fully vaccinated, immunity was significantly lower among PHIV than HEU for all vaccines examined: 20.9% versus 37.8% for hepatitis B virus (P = 0.04), 72.0% versus 90.5% for tetanus (P = 0.02), 51.4% versus 68.8% for H. influenzae type b (P = 0.05), 80.2% versus 100% for measles (P < 0.001) and 72.9% versus 98.0% for rubella (P < 0.001) vaccine, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with HEU, PHIV children were significantly less likely to be immune to vaccine-preventable diseases when fully vaccinated. Strategies to increase immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases among PHIV require further study.

Fatores de risco para necessidade de ventilação mecânica em crianças com Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 / Risk factors for need of mechanical ventilation in children with Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09

OBJETIVO: A pandemia causada pelo vírus Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 teve seu pico nos meses de julho e agosto de 2009, no Sul do Brasil, sendo a incidência mais alta em crianças e adultos jovens. No período pós-pandêmico, no Brasil, houve aumento de casos nos meses de inverno dos anos de 2011 e 2012, de forma semelhante ao vírus influenza sazonal. Como ainda estão ocorrendo infecções devido ao influenza pandêmico, nosso objetivo foi investigar fatores de risco para pior desfecho em crianças. MÉTODOS: Foi realizado um estudo de coorte retrospectivo analisando as fichas de pacientes menores de 14 anos hospitalizados e com RT-PCR positiva para Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 durante a primeira onda , em seis centros terciários brasileiros. Definimos a necessidade de ventilação mecânica como desfecho com gravidade e, como possíveis preditores, os fatores idade, doenças crônicas, codetecção bacteriana e viral, achados da radiografia do tórax e uso de oseltamivir. RESULTADOS: No presente estudo, foram incluídos120 pacientes. Em uma análise multivariada, doenças crônicas (razão de prevalência: 2,613; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 1,267 a 5,386) e codetecção viral (razão de prevalência: 2,43; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 1,203 a 4,905) se associaram estatisticamente a um pior desfecho (p < 0,05). CONCLUSÕES: A presença de doenças crônicas como preditores reforça evidências prévias. Além disso, verificamos que a codetecção viral é fator de risco. São necessários outros estudos para confirmar essa associação.

OBJECTIVE: The pandemic caused by influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus peaked between July and August of 2009 in southern Brazil, with the highest incidence in children and young adults. In the post-pandemic period, there was an increase in the incidence of cases during the winter months of 2011 and 2012 in Brazil, similar to seasonal influenza virus. Since infections due to pandemic influenza are still occurring, the present study aimed to investigate the risk factors for worse outcome in children. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed by reviewing the charts of hospitalized patients younger than 14 years with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 during the first pandemic wave in six Brazilian tertiary centers. Need for mechanical ventilation was defined as the severity of outcome; age, chronic diseases, bacterial and viral co-detection, chest radiograph findings, and use of oseltamivir were possible predictors. RESULTS: In the present study, 120 patients were included. In a multivariate analysis, chronic diseases (prevalence ratio: 2.613, 95% CI: 1.267-5.386) and viral co-detection (prevalence ratio: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.203-4.905) were statistically associated with worse outcome (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of chronic diseases as predictors reinforces previous finding. Furthermore, viral co-detection was found to be a risk factor. Further studies are necessary to confirm this association.

Risk factors for need of mechanical ventilation in children with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09.

OBJECTIVE: The pandemic caused by influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus peaked between July and August of 2009 in southern Brazil, with the highest incidence in children and young adults. In the post-pandemic period, there was an increase in the incidence of cases during the winter months of 2011 and 2012 in Brazil, similar to seasonal influenza virus. Since infections due to pandemic influenza are still occurring, the present study aimed to investigate the risk factors for worse outcome in children. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed by reviewing the charts of hospitalized patients younger than 14 years with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 during the first pandemic wave in six Brazilian tertiary centers. Need for mechanical ventilation was defined as the severity of outcome; age, chronic diseases, bacterial and viral co-detection, chest radiograph findings, and use of oseltamivir were possible predictors. RESULTS: In the present study, 120 patients were included. In a multivariate analysis, chronic diseases (prevalence ratio: 2.613, 95% CI: 1.267-5.386) and viral co-detection (prevalence ratio: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.203-4.905) were statistically associated with worse outcome (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of chronic diseases as predictors reinforces previous finding. Furthermore, viral co-detection was found to be a risk factor. Further studies are necessary to confirm this association.