Messina – There are more and more children who access the pediatric emergency room these days due to respiratory insufficiency caused by the heavy incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
In December, 119 accesses for bronchiolitis alone were recorded, of these 24 were hospitalized in pediatrics and 11 required hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and pediatric (TIP), with an overall average of 4 accesses per day.
A phenomenon, the one recorded in the last few weeks, which fully follows what is happening throughout Italy and which involves the main pediatric centers in the country.
The high number of accesses these days is also linked to the characteristics of the AOU “G. Martino” which, as a second level DEA, is equipped – in addition to the pediatric emergency room and pediatric wards – also with pediatric intensive care. This determines a centralization, also from the province, of many patients who – where necessary – here can count on both the first pharmacological treatments, but also the more advanced ones: from high flows to continuous positive pressure, up to mechanical ventilation in cases of more severe respiratory insufficiencies serious.
“RSV bronchiolitis – explains Prof. Eloisa Gitto, Director of the UOC Neonatal Pathology and TIN – represents the main cause of lower respiratory tract infections in the very first years of life. Particularly under the first year, following RSV infection, children may experience moderate to severe respiratory insufficiency, with the need for hospitalization in pediatrics and, in the most unfortunate cases, in pediatric intensive care. Fortunately, the majority of children respond to high-flow therapy, but there is a proportion of subjects who need more important respiratory support, such as continuous positive pressure or intubation with mechanical ventilation”.
“This is a delicate moment – continues Prof. Carmelo Romeo, Director of the Maternal and Child Department – which also required a reorganization of our classic activities. We have currently suspended scheduled hospitalizations to counter the emergency and make as many beds as possible available. Certainly at this moment the support of family pediatricians is, and continues to be, fundamental for us. We recommend that you go to the hospital only if there are very critical situations that cannot be managed at home. In preventive terms, the suggestion we can make is to avoid as much as possible bringing children to closed and overcrowded places where influenza viruses can certainly circulate more easily”.
We apologize to the families who may suffer inconvenience these days due to increased expectations, but we assure that we are implementing all the necessary actions to manage the high workload while respecting the safety procedures and clinical and welfare protocols. A special thanks goes to all the staff – doctors, nurses and OSS – who are currently doing their utmost to provide the best assistance to all children, with pediatric first aid and paediatrics operators on the front line to face the ‘high number of accesses and hospitalisations.