Bronchiolitis before and after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: Twelve years of experience in a Spanish paediatric hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Acute bronchiolitis is the main cause of hospitalization in children under 2 years of age, with a regular seasonality, mostly due to the respiratory syncytial virus. OBJECTIVES: To describe the epidemiology of bronchiolitis hospitalizations in our center in the last 12 years, and analyze the changes in clinical characteristics, microbiology, and adverse outcomes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. METHODS: Observational study including patients admitted for bronchiolitis between April 2010 and December 2021 in a Spanish tertiary paediatric hospital. Relevant demographic, clinical, microbiological, and adverse outcome variables were collected in an anonymized database. The pandemic period (April 2020 to December 2021) was compared to 2010-2015 seasons using appropriate statistical tests. RESULTS: There were 2138 bronchiolitis admissions, with a mean of 195.6 per year between 2010 and 2019 and a 2-4-month peak between November and March. In the expected season of 2020, there was a 94.4% reduction of bronchiolitis hospitalizations, with only 11 cases admitted in the first year of the pandemic. Bronchiolitis cases increased from the summer of 2021 during a 6-month long peak, reaching a total of 171 cases. Length of stay was significantly shorter during the pandemic, but no differences were found in clinical and microbiological characteristics or other adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has modified the seasonality of bronchiolitis hospitalizations, with a dramatic decrease in cases during the expected season of 2020-2021, and an extemporaneous summer-autumn peak in 2021 with longer duration but similar patient characteristics and risk factors.

Microbiology and clinical characteristics of viridans group streptococci in patients with cancer

ABSTRACT This study assessed the microbiology, clinical syndromes, and outcomes of oncologic patients with viridans group streptococci isolated from blood cultures between January 1st, 2013 and December 31st, 2016 in a referral hospital in Mexico using the Bruker MALDI Biotyper. Antimicrobial sensitivity was determined using BD Phoenix 100 according to CLSI M100 standards. Clinical information was obtained from medical records and descriptive analysis was performed.Forty-three patients were included, 22 females and 21 males, aged 42 ± 17 years. Twenty (46.5%) patients had hematological cancer and 23 (53.5%) a solid malignancy. The viridans group streptococci isolated were Streptococcus mitis, 20 (46.5%); Streptococcus anginosus, 14 (32.6%); Streptococcus sanguinis, 7 (16.3%); and Streptococcus salivarius, 2 (4.7%). The main risk factors were pyrimidine antagonist chemotherapy in 22 (51.2%) and neutropenia in 19 (44.2%) cases, respectively. Central line associated bloodstream infection was diagnosed in 18 (41.9%) cases. Septic shock occurred in 20.9% of patients, with an overall mortality of 18.6%. Only four S. mitis revealed penicillin-resistance.Our results are similar to those of other series, identifying these bacteria as emerging pathogens with significant morbidity and mortality in oncologic patients. The MALDI-TOF system increased the rate of viridans group streptococci isolation in this population.

Microbiology and clinical characteristics of viridans group streptococci in patients with cancer.

This study assessed the microbiology, clinical syndromes, and outcomes of oncologic patients with viridans group streptococci isolated from blood cultures between January 1st, 2013 and December 31st, 2016 in a referral hospital in Mexico using the Bruker MALDI Biotyper. Antimicrobial sensitivity was determined using BD Phoenix 100 according to CLSI M100 standards. Clinical information was obtained from medical records and descriptive analysis was performed. Forty-three patients were included, 22 females and 21 males, aged 42 ± 17 years. Twenty (46.5%) patients had hematological cancer and 23 (53.5%) a solid malignancy. The viridans group streptococci isolated were Streptococcus mitis, 20 (46.5%); Streptococcus anginosus, 14 (32.6%); Streptococcus sanguinis, 7 (16.3%); and Streptococcus salivarius, 2 (4.7%). The main risk factors were pyrimidine antagonist chemotherapy in 22 (51.2%) and neutropenia in 19 (44.2%) cases, respectively. Central line associated bloodstream infection was diagnosed in 18 (41.9%) cases. Septic shock occurred in 20.9% of patients, with an overall mortality of 18.6%. Only four S. mitis revealed penicillin-resistance. Our results are similar to those of other series, identifying these bacteria as emerging pathogens with significant morbidity and mortality in oncologic patients. The MALDI-TOF system increased the rate of viridans group streptococci isolation in this population.