Comparative epidemiology, hospital course, and outcomes of viral respiratory infections in hospitalized pediatric patients

Acute respiratory illness is the leading cause of hospitalization for young children. Current guidelines recommend against testing to identify specific viruses due to a lack of data on the benefit of such testing. This study was designed to characterize epidemiology, hospital course, and outcomes of the various common virus -related hospitalization in children. Single-center retrospective chart review. All patients who had respiratory viral panel sent within 48 h of admission. Comparative demographic and outcome analysis. Statistical analysis using ANOVA and multivariable regression. 1831 patients met the study criteria. Rhinovirus was the most common virus (55.9%). Coronavirus had the highest proportion of infants (61.2%), while influenza had the least (17.8%). Positive urine culture identified in 8.1% of patients, with blood and urine positivity at 2% each. Rhinovirus and parainfluenza were spread throughout the year, while Corona, RSV, and influenza were more predominant in winter months. Overall PICU admission rate 22.8% and was highest for RSV (28.0%) and lowest for adenovirus (13.5%). No difference in ICU length of stay among different virus. Intubation rate was 5.6% with a median duration of 5 days. Median hospital length of stay was 2 days and differ significantly with different virus (maximum four RSV and metapneumo virus). Mortality in the study population was 0.3%. The difference in the disease course of different viruses may justify the resources required to test for the respiratory viral panel. This study data can serve as a benchmark for comparison of disease course of COVID-19 compared to other viral infections.