Resident The Children's Hospital at Saint Peter's University Hospital Old Bridge , New Jersey, United States
Background: Over the past 3 years, COVD-19 has been one of the most consequential public health crisis affecting the general public. Since March 2020, at least 12 million pediatric COVID-19 cases have been identified per the Centers For Disease Control (CDC). The average positivity rate amongst pediatric patients, however, has been lower than that of their adult counterparts (4.3% vs. 14.3%, respectively). In response to rise in COVID-19 cases, federal and state level governments have enacted public health measures in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. This was similarly seen in foreign countries, resulting in a shift in the usual seasonality of other commonly seen respiratory viruses. Objective: Numerous foreign studies have looked at the effects of public health measures on the prevalence of other common respiratory viruses. A study by Saravanos et. al (2022) in Australia, RSV was seen to shift from the winter/ autumn to the summer months. Van Brusselen et al (2021) showed a significant reduction in RSV in direct response to public health measures enacted by the Belgian government. Vittucci et al (2021) showed a 80.66% reduction in respiratory cases in response to public health measures. Design/Methods: This study has been approved by the Saint Peter's University Hospital Institutional Review Board and is a descriptive retrospective review of RVPs and COVID-19 PCRs performed from 1/1/2020 - 2/28/2022 at Saint Peters University Hospital. Patients aged 18 years and less with a RVP or COVID-19 PCR test performed were included in this study. Data collected included gender, age, race/ ethnicity, and test result. t-Test was used to determine statistical significance, and aggregate data was used to determine epidemiology. Results: Total 4513 RVPs and 14,750 COVID-19 PCRs were performed from 1/1/2020 - 2/28/2022. After public health orders were enacted, a decrease total positive cases of all viruses was seen (however, Rhinovirus persisted in the community). RSV was seen to rise in the Summer 2021, and increased positive cases were seen amongst Pacific-Islanders compared to local demographic data. There was no significant difference in the median age of COVID-19 positive vs. COVID-19 negative patients with an average age of 7 years. 2% of COVID-19 positive pediatric patients were admitted.
Conclusion(s): Data shows that the prevalence of all viruses decreased during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic after public health orders were enacted. RSV rose in the summer months consistent with what was seen abroad, and a significantly less percentage of pediatric patients with COVID-19 were admitted compared to adults.
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