Clinico-etiological and epidemiological particularities of respiratory virus diseases in children in the 2022-2023 season

Abstract

In the period 2020-2022 as a result of epidemiological measures specific to the COVID-19 pandemic (protective mask, online teaching activity, social distancing) we witnessed a considerable decrease in the number of cases of respiratory viroids in children. With the lifting of prophylactic measures that coincided with the start of physical teaching activities and the onset of the cold season, we have been confronted in pediatric wards with an increase in the incidence of virological infections in the pediatric population. In this article we aim to analyze the particularities of respiratory virological diseases in children in the season 2022 - 2023 both from the etiological and epidemiological point of view and the characteristic clinical forms of the disease. We conducted a retrospective clinical study of cases admitted to the Clinical Departments of Infectious Diseases-Pediatrics of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases “Prof. Dr. Matei Bals” in the period October 2022 - March 2023. During this period, we recorded 3.012 cases of respiratory virology in children, which represents the majority of pediatric pathology admitted (72,9 %). The peak incidence of respiratory virology occurred in December (688 cases). From the etiological point of view, most cases were SARS-CoV-2 infections, followed by influenza (predominantly type A), then a smaller number of infections with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinovirus, adenovirus, metapneumovirus. The most common clinical form of the disease was moderate (66.9%), with severe forms accounting for 10.5%. All pediatric cases of respiratory virology admitted to our wards have evolved favorably, with no deaths.