Effect of Social Distancing Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in Finland During Early 2020
Effect of Social Distancing Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in Finland During Early 2020
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DOI：
10.1097/inf.0000000000002845
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发表时间：
2020-12-01
影响因子：
3.6
通讯作者：
Renko, Marjo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kuitunen, Ilari;Artama, Miia;Renko, Marjo
背景：社会疏远措施被用来减少感染的传播。我们的目的是评估因2019年冠状病毒病(新冠肺炎)而发布的国家封锁令对芬兰医院和全国的儿科急诊室(ER)就诊和呼吸道感染的即时影响。方法：这项基于登记册的研究使用了医院患者信息系统和芬兰国家传染病登记册。参与者都是在2家芬兰医院(Kuopio大学医院、Mikkeli中心医院)就诊的儿科急诊室患者，覆盖了芬兰五分之一的儿童人口，分别在2020年3月16日全国封锁开始前4周和之后4周。从2015年到2020年，从传染病登记处评估了全国儿童流感(A+B)和呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)的周数。结果：在全国范围内的封锁期间，两家医院的儿科急诊率中位数与封锁前相比显著下降(Mikkeli，19vs.7，P<；0.001；Kuopio，9vs.2.5，P<；0.001)。流感季节较短(从高峰期到无病例的8周)，与前4个流感季节(以前从高峰期到无病例的15-20周)相比，每周新发病例的下降速度更快。呼吸道合胞病毒病例中也出现了类似的下降。在研究期间，参与医院未发现儿科新冠肺炎感染病例。结论：社会距离等封锁策略能有效减缓常见呼吸道病毒疾病的传播，减少儿童的住院需求。
Background:Social distancing measures are used to reduce the spreading of infection. Our aim was to assess the immediate effects of national lockdown orders due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pediatric emergency room (ER) visits and respiratory tract infections in hospitals and nationwide in Finland.Methods:This register-based study used hospital patient information systems and the Finnish national infectious disease register. The participants were all patients visiting pediatric ER in 2 Finnish hospitals (Kuopio University Hospital, Mikkeli Central Hospital) covering 1/5th of the Finnish children population, 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after the start of the nationwide lockdown on March 16, 2020. Nationwide weekly numbers of influenza (A + B) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children were assessed from the infectious disease register from 2015 to 2020.Results:A major decrease in the rate of daily median pediatric ER visits was detected in both hospitals in the study during the nationwide lockdown compared with the study period before the lockdown (Mikkeli, 19 vs. 7, P < 0.001; Kuopio, 9 vs. 2,5, P < 0.001). The influenza season was shorter (8 weeks from peak to no cases), and the weekly rate of new cases decreased faster compared with the previous 4 influenza seasons (previously 15-20 weeks from peak to no cases). A similar decrease was also seen in RSV cases. No pediatric cases of COVID-19 were found in participating hospitals during the study period.Conclusion:These results strongly suggest that social distancing and other lockdown strategies are effective to slow down the spreading of common respiratory viral diseases and decreasing the need for hospitalization among children.