학술논문
Changes in Bronchiolitis Characteristics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Description of Pediatric Emergency Department Visits in a Community Hospital, 2019-2021.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*HOSPITALS
*KRUSKAL-Wallis Test
*LENGTH of stay in hospitals
*HOSPITAL emergency services
*CROSS-sectional method
*STEROIDS
*PEDIATRICS
*RETROSPECTIVE studies
*MEDICAL care use
*BRONCHODILATOR agents
*BRONCHIOLE diseases
*CHI-squared test
*RESEARCH funding
*MEDICAL appointments
*DATA analysis software
*COVID-19 pandemic
*ANTIBIOTICS
*SYMPTOMS
*CHILDREN
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Language
ISSN
0009-9228
Abstract
A retrospective, cross-sectional study of children with bronchiolitis aged 1 to 24 months during an ED visit between 2019 and 2021 was performed. Chi-square or Kruskal-Wallis was used to compare groups. The gamma coefficient was used to measure the association of variables through time. Bronchiolitis cases decreased by 75% from 2019 to 2020 and rose back to prepandemic levels by 2021. Radiographs (gamma −0.443), steroids (gamma −0.298), and bronchodilators (gamma −0.414) decreased during the study period (P <.001). Laboratory studies (gamma 0.032), viral testing (gamma 0.097), antibiotic use (gamma −0.069), and respiratory support (gamma 0.166) were unchanged. The decrease in steroids and bronchodilators was related to a clinical pathway that discouraged their use. Respiratory support remained unchanged. The COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2021) seems to have had little effect on the severity or resource utilization associated with bronchiolitis but may have unraveled a potential bronchiolitis phenotype that may have been more prominent during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]