Introduction The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly spread worldwide, and the various infection control measures have a significant influence on the spread of many infectious diseases. However, there have been no multicenter studies on how the number of hospitalized children with various infectious diseases changed before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Japan. Methods We conducted a multicenter, prospective survey for hospitalized pediatric patients in 18 hospitals in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, from July 2019 to February 2021. We defined July 2019 to February 2020 as pre-COVID-19, and July 2020 to February 2021 as post-COVID-19. We surveyed various infectious diseases by sex and age. Results In total, 5,300 patients were hospitalized during the study period. The number of patients decreased from 4,266 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 701 (16.4%) post-COVID-19. Patients with influenza and RSV decreased from 308 and 795 pre-COVID-19 to zero and three (0.4%) post-COVID-19. However, patients with adenovirus (respiratory infection) only decreased to 60.9% (46 to 28) of pre-COVID levels. Patients with rotavirus, norovirus, and adenovirus gastroenteritis decreased markedly post-COVID-19 to 2.6% (38 to 1), 27.8% (97 to 27) and 13.5% (37 to 5). The number of patients with UTIs was similar across the two periods (109 and 90). KD patients decreased to 31.7% (161 to 51) post-COVID-19. Conclusions We suggest that current infection control measures for COVID-19 such as wearing masks, washing hands, and disinfecting hands with alcohol are effective against various infectious diseases. However, these effects vary by disease.

Our findings indicate that the clinical courses of patients with deletions of both KCNQ2 and CHRNA4 are indistinguishable from those of patients with deletions of KCNQ2 only.

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We describe the effectiveness of combinatorial therapy with plasma exchanges and methylprednisolone pulses followed by intravenous cyclophosphamide in a young girl with anti-signal recognition particle 54 (SRP54) antibody-associated myopathy. We also use a newly described quantitative assay to demonstrate the close association between the titers of anti-SRP54 antibodies and disease activity. This is the first report of a pediatric patient indicating that the serum levels of anti-SRP54 antibodies are also beneficial for monitoring the disease activity of progressive necrotizing myopathy.

Background: Many reports have reported a reduction in respiratory infectious diseases and infectious gastroenteritis immediately after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but data continuing into 2022 are very limited. We sought to understand the current situation of various infectious diseases among children in Japan as of July 2022 to improve public health in the post-COVID-19 era. Methods: We collected data on children hospitalized with infectious diseases in 18 hospitals in Japan from July 2019 to June 2022. Results: In total, 3417 patients were hospitalized during the study period. Respiratory syncytial virus decreased drastically after COVID-19 spread in early 2020, and few patients were hospitalized for it from April 2020 to March 2021. However, an unexpected out-of-season re-emergence of respiratory syncytial virus was observed in August 2021 (50 patients per week), particularly prominent among older children 3–6 years old. A large epidemic of delayed norovirus gastroenteritis was observed in April 2021, suggesting that the nonpharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 are less effective against norovirus. However, influenza, human metapneumovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and rotavirus gastroenteritis were rarely seen for more than 2 years. Conclusions: The incidence patterns of various infectious diseases in Japan have changed markedly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to the present. The epidemic pattern in the post-COVID-19 era is unpredictable and will require continued careful surveillance.