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Does social distancing impact pediatric upper airway infections? An observational controlled study and a brief
Sebastiano Franchella1, Niccolò Favaretto2, Annachiara Frigo3
1Department of Neuroscience DNS, Otolaryngology Section, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Insights
Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly improved common pediatric upper airway diseases. Children with social restrictions showed higher recovery rates for acute otitis media and middle ear effusion.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated social distancing measures, impacting social interactions among children.
- The effect of these public health interventions on common pediatric upper airway recurrent diseases remains under-investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the role of social distancing in the management of recurrent pediatric upper airway diseases.
- To determine if reduced social contact influences the course of conditions like acute otitis media.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric patients (≤14 years) with ENT conditions.
- Comparison of two groups: control (2018-2019) and case (2019-2020) to evaluate changes during periods of social distancing.
- Individual patient outcomes (improved, unchanged, worsened) were tracked and compared between groups.
Main Results:
- Patients experiencing social distancing showed a significantly higher improvement rate for recurrent acute otitis media (35.1% vs. 10.8%).
- Improvement in tympanogram type was also significantly higher in the social distancing group (54.5% vs. 11.1%).
- Statistical significance was confirmed using Fisher's exact test (p=0.033 for AOM, p=0.009 for tympanogram type).
Conclusions:
- Anti-contagion social restrictions demonstrably decreased the prevalence of middle ear infections and effusion in children.
- These findings suggest a potential benefit of reduced social exposure for certain pediatric ENT conditions.
- Further research with larger cohorts is recommended to validate and expand upon these observations.
Purpose:
SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has reduced social interaction even among children. The objective of the study was to assess the role of social distancing in the course of common pediatric upper airway recurrent diseases.
Materials And Methods:
Patients aged ≤14 years with at least one ENT-related clinical condition were retrospectively recruited. All patients had two outpatient evaluations in the same period (April - September): the control group had the first evaluation in 2018 and second in 2019, whereas the case group had the first evaluation in 2019 and second in 2020. Patients of each group were individually compared between their two visits and deemed improved/unchanged/worsened for each specific ENT condition. The percentage of children improved/unchanged/worsened were then collectively compared between the two groups for each condition.
Results:
Patients who experienced social distancing presented a significantly higher improvement rate than controls for recurrent acute otitis media episodes (35.1 % vs. 10.8 %; Fisher's exact test p = 0.033) and for tympanogram type (54.5 % vs. 11.1 %, Fisher's exact test p = 0.009).
Conclusions:
The anti-contagion social restrictions decreased the prevalence of middle ear infections and effusion in children. Further studies on larger cohorts are required to better elucidate these findings.
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