BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic reached the Southern Hemisphere in the autumn of 2020, thus coinciding with its expected annual viral respiratory season. The potential impact of national strategies aimed at mitigating COVID-19 during the pandemic on the incidence of other critical viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children is unknown.MethodsWe analysed admission data for LRTIs from 22 paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in four countries, part of a large international Latin American registry of children with acute respiratory failure (Red Colaborativa Pediátrica de Latinoamérica [LARed Network]).ResultsBetween January and August, there were 83% fewer PICU admissions for LRTIs in 2020 compared to the 2018/2019 average over the same period. Similar decreases were noted for PICU admissions due to respiratory syncytial virus and influenza (92% and 78%, respectively).ConclusionWe observed a striking reduction in PICU admissions due to viral LRTIs over winter, during the COVID-19 pandemic in South America.

These data do not support the association between ACE I/D genotype and ARDS, although severe hypoxemia was less frequent in D allele carriers. ACE I/D polymorphism modified angiotensin-II levels in pediatric ARDS, but its pathogenic role is not well understood and needs to be addressed in future studies.