1 - General Pediatrics Unit, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisbon, Portugal
- Comunicação oral em reunião internacional
Resumo:
Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main cause of acute bronchiolitis. The peak of the infection is historically described in the autumn/winter season. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic seems to have modified the seasonality of some respiratory virus. The first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed in Portugal was in March 2020. School closure and the use of masks are some of the pointed reasons for a decreased number of RSV infections observed in the autumn/winter season post the beginning of the pandemic. Interestingly, there are now a few studies from around the globe showing the resurgence of RSV infections in the spring/summer season that followed.
Aim: To characterize the population of RSV infected infants admitted to a tertiary hospital before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A retrospective, descriptive, study was performed. All the RSV infected infants who were admitted to a Portuguese tertiary hospital from January 2017 to August 2021 were evaluated. The diagnosis of RSV infection was made through polymerase chain reaction of nasal secretions. Data such as age, comorbidities, oxygen therapy and admission at Intensive Care Unit were analyzed.
Results: Between 2017 and 2019, the peak of RSV infections occurred in the months of December and January. In 2020, the last diagnosed RSV infection was in March 2020. There was no detection of RSV during the rest of the year. Nonetheless, a resurgence of infections and hospital admissions was verified in June 2021, with increasing numbers throughout the months of July and August 2021 as opposed to previous years.
Conclusions: RSV seasonality was modified by the COVID-19 pandemic, with an increase of the hospital admissions being registered in the summer of 2021. Our tertiary hospital’s numbers reproduce what is being described in other places of the world. Subsequent studies are needed to verify the behavior of RSV infections in the next seasons, to understand if RSV infections are becoming more severe and to analyze the impact of RSV on other respiratory viral infections.
Palavras Chave: COVID-19 Pandemics, Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection