PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Giorgio Cozzi
AU  - Luisa Cortellazzo Wiel
AU  - Alessandro Amaddeo
AU  - Antonio Gatto
AU  - Manuela Giangreco
AU  - Adi Klein-Kremer
AU  - Samantha Bosis
AU  - Davide Silvagni
AU  - Carla Debbia
AU  - Laura Nanni
AU  - Sara Chiappa
AU  - Marta Minute
AU  - Ilaria Corsini
AU  - Giuliana Morabito
AU  - Anna Jolanda Gortan
AU  - Marco Colombo
AU  - Federico Marchetti
AU  - Davide Garelli
AU  - Arianna Piffer
AU  - Fabio Cardinale
AU  - Nitai Levy
AU  - Antonietta Curatola
AU  - Bojana Gojsina
AU  - Suvradeep Basu
AU  - Egidio Barbi
AU  - Aleksandar Sovtic
ED  - ,
TI  - Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in infants with bronchiolitis: a multicentre international study
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323559
DP  - 2022 Sep 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood
PG  - 840--844
VI  - 107
IP  - 9
4099  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/107/9/840.short
4100  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/107/9/840.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child2022 Sep 01; 107
AB  - Background Bronchiolitis is the leading acute respiratory tract infection in infants during the winter season. Since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a reduction in the number of bronchiolitis diagnoses has been registered.Objective The present study aimed to describe the incidence and clinical features of bronchiolitis during the 2020–2021 winter season in a large cohort of children in Europe and Israel, and to clarify the role of SARS-CoV-2.Setting, patients, interventions We conducted a multicentre observational cross-sectional study in 23 paediatric emergency departments in Europe and Israel. Clinical and demographic data about all the cases of infants diagnosed with bronchiolitis from 1 October 2020 to 30 April 2021 were collected. For each enrolled patient, diagnostic tests, treatments and outcomes were reported.Main outcome measures The main outcome was the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-positive bronchiolitis.Results Three hundred and fourteen infants received a diagnosis of bronchiolitis during the study period. Among 535 infants who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 16 (3%) had bronchiolitis. Median age, male sex predominance, weight, history of prematurity and presence of comorbidities did not differ between the SARS-CoV-2-positive and SARS-CoV-2-negative groups. Rhinovirus was the most common involved pathogen, while respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected in one case. SARS-CoV-2 bronchiolitis had a mild clinical course, with one patient receiving oxygen supplementation and none requiring paediatric or neonatal intensive care unit admission.Conclusions During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a marked decrease in the number of bronchiolitis diagnoses and the disappearance of the RSV winter epidemic were observed. SARS-CoV-2-related bronchiolitis was rare and mostly displayed a mild clinical course.Data are available on reasonable request.