Bronchiolitis Admissions to Intensive Care During COVID

Abstract

* Abbreviation: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease Acute bronchiolitis, a viral seasonal infection of the lower respiratory tract, affects nearly 20% of all children and leads to the hospitalization of 2% to 3% of all children younger than 12 months every year.1,2 Approximately 2% to 6% of hospitalized children require admission to the PICU.1 Acute bronchiolitis may account for as much as 13% of PICU admissions,3 and it is responsible for the death of ∼3 of 100 000 children under 12 months each year4 (eg, nearly 20 and 100 infants annually in England4 and the United States,5 respectively). Bronchiolitis epidemic has a predictable seasonal pattern, and in France, it starts in September, peaks in November to December, and ends in February. Although children have been relatively spared by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the impact that the overlap of the second wave of this pandemic and of the associated public measures have … Address correspondence to Ricardo Carbajal, MD, PhD, Pediatric Emergency Department, APHP Hopital Armand Trousseau, 26, av du Dr Netter, 75012 Paris, France. E-mail: ricardo.carbajal{at}aphp.fr