Abstract:

Objective: Primary preventive nonpharmaceutical interventions were introduced to reduce viral transmission and disease spread at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, herein, we aimed to determine and assess the impact of the nonpharmaceutical interventions on bronchiolitis and varicella infection rates in the pediatric population during the pandemic compared to the previous four years. We also aimed to evaluate which viruses cause viral respiratory tract infections during the pandemic period. Material and Methods: Diagnosis and laboratory data of the patients who were one month to 18 years of age were retrospectively retrieved from hospital records. The distribution of the number of patients with bronchiolitis and chickenpox diagnoses was shown monthly between January 2016 and December 2020. Viral agents detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the nasopharyngeal aspirate samples obtained at the first application of the patients during the pandemic period were investigated. Results: The data of 2.254.877 pediatric patients admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 were examined. There were 38.458 bronchiolitis and 954 chickenpox cases reported both as inpatients and outpatients. There was a 85.6% decrease in the rate of bronchiolitis compared to previous years, and chickenpox peak was not observed in the pandemic period. Rhinovirus was found to be the most common etiologic agent of bronchiolitis during the pandemic period and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) came second. A significant decrease in the frequency of influenza was also observed. Conclusion: Our study reveals that the measures which curtail social life and prioritize social distancing prevent the spread of viral infections. It has also shown that there is an increase in the frequency of Rhinovirus infection during the pandemic period.

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