PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pablo Vásquez-Hoyos
AU  - Franco Diaz-Rubio
AU  - Nicolas Monteverde-Fernandez
AU  - Juan Camilo Jaramillo-Bustamante
AU  - Cristobal Carvajal
AU  - Alberto Serra
AU  - Todd Karsies
AU  - Alexandre Tellechea Rotta
AU  - Sebastián González-Dambrauskas
ED  - ,
TI  - Reduced PICU respiratory admissions during COVID-19
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2020-320469
DP  - 2021 Aug 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood
PG  - 808--811
VI  - 106
IP  - 8
4099  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/106/8/808.short
4100  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/106/8/808.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child2021 Aug 01; 106
AB  - Background The COVID-19 pandemic reached the Southern Hemisphere in the autumn of 2020, thus coinciding with its expected annual viral respiratory season. The potential impact of national strategies aimed at mitigating COVID-19 during the pandemic on the incidence of other critical viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children is unknown.Methods We analysed admission data for LRTIs from 22 paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in four countries, part of a large international Latin American registry of children with acute respiratory failure (Red Colaborativa Pediátrica de Latinoamérica [LARed Network]).Results Between January and August, there were 83% fewer PICU admissions for LRTIs in 2020 compared to the 2018/2019 average over the same period. Similar decreases were noted for PICU admissions due to respiratory syncytial virus and influenza (92% and 78%, respectively).Conclusion We observed a striking reduction in PICU admissions due to viral LRTIs over winter, during the COVID-19 pandemic in South America.Data are available upon reasonable request.