Sick children, boom in access to the Portogruaro Emergency Department

PORTOGRUARO – Many sick children, more visits to the emergency room. What the experts had predicted for this 2022-2023 flu season is exactly happening. After two years of containment and distancing measures imposed by Covid, viruses have resumed their free circulation, finding more fragile immune systems. Despite the imminent arrival of the month of May, the flu is therefore continuing to circulate and also in the Portogruaro area many school classes, in particular childhood and primary schools, are decimated. The symptoms are the classic ones: fever, cough, cold and in some cases gastrointestinal disorders.

«The flu, a respiratory disease caused by viruses that infect the airways – explains the doctor of Pediatrics, Antonella Tonetto – is an annual appointment that affects all age groups but which can clearly lead to even serious complications in the most frail: young children, the elderly, pregnant women and patients with comorbidities. Children, compared to adults, have a much higher viral load and by attending communities with low levels of prevention, they are real infectors. In eastern Veneto, the network of general practitioners is articulated and complete: no child is without a pediatrician. This allows you to have a good filter for access to hospital facilities. The entrances of children to the emergency room that we are recording – continues Dr. Tonetto – are mainly linked to high fever. It is understandable that parents become alarmed with temperatures approaching 40 degrees. These accesses are never to be considered improper. Usually, once the swabs have been made, these children are sent home with instructions to administer antipyretics and to offer adequate quantities of water. Only in a few cases is hospitalization necessary. Often these are young patients who are dehydrated or have developed pneumonia, myositis or other brain disorders. The Pediatrics department of Portogruaro is not saturated and is able to guarantee answers to any need for hospitalization. The situation today is therefore not dramatic even if the cases are very widespread. Tonetto recalled that “the only real possibility of prevention is vaccination, recommended by the WHO for all children aged 6 months and over”. “The indication to give to parents – she concluded – is always to contact your pediatrician for all the information on the next vaccination campaign”.

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in Il Gazzettino