Bronchiolitis in COVID-19 times: a nearly absent disease?

Brusselen, Daan Van; Troeyer, Katrien De; Haar, Eva Ter; Auwera, Ann Vander; Poschet, Katleen; Nuijs, Sascha Van; Bael, An; Stobbelaar, Kim; Verhulst, Stijn; Herendael, Bruno Van; Willems, Philippe; Vermeulen, Melissa; Man, Jeroen De; Bossuyt, Nathalie; Driessche, Koen Vanden

doi:10.1007/s00431-021-03968-6

Cited by 167 publications

(191 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

151

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A time series analysis by Angoulvant et al in France reported a significant decrease in airborne-disseminated infectious diseases, including bronchiolitis (−63.5%), during the COVID19 outbreak [ 6 ]. Data from Belgium strengthen this evidence, outlining an early ending of the 2019–2020 bronchiolitis season, together with a nearly absent burden of disease in the first months of the epidemic season of 2020–2021 [ 15 ]. Our data point in the same direction, given that no bronchiolitis cases were reported in our center during the entire 2020–2021 season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Bronchiolitis Hospitalizations: The Experience of an Italian Tertiary Center

Stera

Pierantoni

Masetti³

et al. 2021

Children

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic restrictions have deeply altered the common respiratory illnesses burden. The aim of this paper was to clarify how these measures may have influenced bronchiolitis epidemiology, exploring possible explanations. We studied 342 infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis at our center from four different epidemic seasons (October–April 2017–2018, 2018–2019, 2019–2020 and 2020–2021). March–April hospitalization rate, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infection, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission and oxygen therapy administration data were compared among different seasons to outline any changes during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. In March–April, 30 (23.1%), 28 (24.6%) and 5 (5.1%) infants were hospitalized for bronchiolitis, respectively, in 2017–2018, 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, with a lower rate in March–April 2020 (p < 0.001). No hospitalizations for bronchiolitis occurred during the epidemic season of 2020–2021. No significant differences in RSV infections, oxygen therapy administration and PICU admissions across seasons were outlined. In conclusion, we report a severe decrease in hospitalizations for bronchiolitis at our center throughout the entire SARS-CoV-2 outbreak rather than only during the lockdown periods. This seems to suggest a pivotal role for the systematic implementation of cost-effective non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as compulsory face masks and hand hygiene, which were deployed for the entire pandemic, in reducing the circulation of infectious agents.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Bronchiolitis Hospitalizations: The Experience of an Italian Tertiary Center

Stera

Pierantoni

Masetti³

et al. 2021

Children

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An unprecedented low incidence of respiratory viral infections was reported during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) pandemic [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The likely contributing factors included universal mask use, school closures, travel restrictions, bans on mass gatherings and other public health and physical distancing measures to control COVID-19.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Delayed respiratory syncytial virus epidemic in children after relaxation of COVID-19 physical distancing measures, Ashdod, Israel, 2021

Opek¹,

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Following low incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, we noted a resurgence in hospitalised children in spring/summer 2021 following relaxation of public health measures. We compared this outbreak to previous autumn/winter seasons. We found higher weekly case numbers and incidence rates, more cases from urban neighbourhoods with lower socioeconomic status, and similar clinical presentation and severity. Public health implications include the re-evaluation of palivizumab administration and the need for surge capacity planning.

show abstract

“…Recently, van Brusselen et al 1 reported that in the 2020-2021 European winter bronchiolitis and particularly its main responsible RSV had practically disappeared by the time its usual annual peak was expected, just when the second wave of the pandemic began. But, as the season is not completely over, they acknowledge the concern for a late spring/summer peak.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there a place for bronchiolitis in the COVID‐19 era? Lack of hospitalizations due to common respiratory viruses during the 2020 winter

Ferrero

Ossorio

2021

Pediatric Pulmonology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

home order enforced for 9 months and a school and day-care centers closure for almost the whole school year (including fall, winter, and spring). 4 On the contrary, the search and trace strategy used in our city could have contributed to reaching such a high number of pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19 as most of our patients were asymptomatic or mild. 5 Despite nonroutine rhinovirus testing could be considered a limitation of our report because it has been identified as a cause of ALRI, for the last 6 years (those included in this analysis) respiratory virus testing was performed in the same way in our hospital, allowing us to compare overall differences. Also, although the very low prevalence of common respiratory viruses in the year of the pandemic could have an impact on test performance (e.g., positive predictive value), the large difference in this variable between 2020 and earlier years means that this problem is unlikely to affect our results.

show abstract

Bronchiolitis in COVID-19 times: a nearly absent disease?

Cited by 167 publications

References 12 publications

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Bronchiolitis Hospitalizations: The Experience of an Italian Tertiary Center

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Bronchiolitis Hospitalizations: The Experience of an Italian Tertiary Center

Delayed respiratory syncytial virus epidemic in children after relaxation of COVID-19 physical distancing measures, Ashdod, Israel, 2021

Is there a place for bronchiolitis in the COVID‐19 era? Lack of hospitalizations due to common respiratory viruses during the 2020 winter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About