Fall of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children following COVID-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions: A Time Series Analysis

Abstract

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A first national lockdown was decided in France on the 17 March 2020. These measures had an impact on other viral and non-viral infectious diseases. We aimed to assess this impact on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. We performed a quasi-experimental interrupted time series analysis. We used data from a French prospective surveillance system of six pediatric emergency departments (PEDs). All visits from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020 were included. Pre-intervention period was before 17 March 2020 and post-intervention period was after 18 March 2020. We estimated the impact on the weekly number of visits for CAP and CAP admission using quasi-Poisson regression modeling. A total of 981,782 PEDs visits were analyzed; among them, 8318 visits were associated with CAP, and 1774 of these were followed by a hospital admission. A major decrease was observed for CAP visits (–79.7% 95% CI [–84.3; –73.8]; p < 0.0001), and CAP admission (–71.3% 95 CI [–78.8; –61.1]; p < 0.0001). We observed a dramatic decrease of CAP in children following NPIs implementation. Further studies are required to assess the long-term impact of these measures.

Association of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic With Invasive Pneumococcal Disease, Pneumococcal Carriage, and Respiratory Viral Infections Among Children in France

“…It has been reported that the rhinovirus positivity rate remained stable in France after NPI implementation. 41 Other respiratory viruses are not monitored in France, 42 and their epidemiological activity could not be included in our model.…”

Effects of COVID-19-targeted nonpharmaceutical interventions on children's respiratory admissions in China: a national multicenter time series study

“…Respiratory diseases, especially pneumonia, are major causes of hospitalization and death among children younger than five years. Recently, a dramatic decrease in pediatric respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and influenza, has been observed worldwide and deemed as the result of the interruption of person-to-person viral or bacterial transmission attributed mainly to mask-wearing, social distancing, and school closure( Cheng et al, 2020 , Rybak et al, 2021 , Sakamoto et al, 2020 , Van Brusselen et al, 2021 ).…”

Fall of viral and bacterial pneumonia hospitalizations following COVID-19 pandemic mitigation strategies: a central Italian Region retrospective study

“…Accordingly with our data, the precautions taken, such as the use of masks and social distancing, have been reported to be effective in reducing the consumption of antibiotics in 2020: 18.2% in Italy and to 23.9% in Abruzzo [ 32 ]. Also Ryabak et al analysis demonstrates CAP reduction, especially in children [ 33 ]…”