Severe viral respiratory infections in the pre-COVID era: A 5-year experience in two pediatric intensive care units in Italy

Prognostic Value of the Area of Lung Involved in Severe and Non-Severe Bronchiolitis: An Observational, Ultrasound-Based Study

BACKGROUND

Point of care lung ultrasound (LUS) has a definite role in viral bronchiolitis when combined with clinical data. Previous data showed a bigger involvement of the superior lung zones in more severe cases. The aim of the present study is to describe whether different lung areas are implicated to different degrees in patients admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and needing ventilation compared to those with less severe forms.

METHODS

observational, prospective study. LUS scores of single lung areas and clinical data were collected for all children aged 0-12 months presenting with bronchiolitis to the participating centers and used as covariates for logistic regression having "PICU admission" as outcome. A subsequent analysis was carried out to investigate factors concurring with different lung zones' involvement.

RESULTS

173 patients were enrolled. Difficulty in feeding, presence of wheezing, SpO2 were all risk factors for PICU admission. Superior lung areas' LUS scores presented higher Odds Ratios for PICU admission and need for ventilation than inferior ones. Age and prematurity concurred in determining their higher LUS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Superior lobes' greater involvement could be favored by the geometrical distribution of relative bronchi, exiting with an acute angle from mainstem bronchi in small children where airway caliber is small and only small volumes of secretions can be occlusive.

Respiratory syncytial virus: can we still believe that after pandemic bronchiolitis is not a critical issue for public health?

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection among infants and young children, resulting in annual epidemics worldwide. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-pharmacological interventions were applied, interfering with the circulation of most respiratory viruses, including RSV. The aim of this study is to analyze the RSV infection trend among hospitalized infants during the actual epidemic season (2022-2023) in comparison with the last pre-pandemic season (2018-2019), in order to outline whether significant differences emerge due to COVID-19 pandemia. We retrospectively reviewed medical data on infants hospitalized at the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital with diagnosis of bronchiolitis in the current epidemic season and in the last pre-pandemic season, 2018-2019. RSV remains the main etiological agent of bronchiolitis in terms of frequency and severity of infections in the ongoing epidemic season. The first RSV case of the 2022-2023 season was detected at week 42 vs week 47 in the 2018-2019 season. The length of epidemic season was of 17 weeks in 2022-2023 vs 18 weeks in 2018-2019. Comparing the two seasons, age at admission was significantly higher in the current season (median age 2022-2023 65 days vs median age 2018-2019 58 days), but the disease severity was similar.       Conclusions: The 2022-2023 bronchiolitis season in Italy started earlier than the usual pre-pandemic seasons but seasonality pattern may be going back to the pre-pandemic one. This season was not more severe than the previous ones. The impact of RSV disease on health care systems and costs remains a critical issue. What is Known: • RSV is one of the major leading causes of hospitalization among children aged less than 3 months. SarsCOV2 pandemic interfered with the seasonal circulation of most respiratory viruses, Including RSV. What is New: • The 2022-2023 bronchiolitis season in Italy started and peaked earlier than the usual pre-pandemic seasons but seasonality pattern may be realigning to the pre-pandemic one. The impact of RSV disease on health care systems and costs is concerning.