Lower Airway Diseases in the Paediatric Population: A Two-Year, Single-Centre, Retrospective Study

Background: Lower airway diseases in children are one of the major causes of hospitalisation. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of children admitted to a tertiary pediatric hospital diagnosed with lower airway disease and to identify differences between age groups and the two years of the study. Methods: In this single-centre retrospective observational study, demographic and clinical information about children hospitalised in the emergency pediatric ward and diagnosed with lower respiratory disease from 1 June 2021 to 30 June 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 410 episodes of hospitalisation for lower airway diseases were registered. In 83.9% of cases, the patient needed hospitalisation for respiratory failure, and children <1 year of age were at higher risk. Rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were the leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections. No death has been recorded. In 8.8% of cases, the patient was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. In 2021-2022, we recorded more hospitalisations for bronchiolitis with RSV as the primary pathogen detected and more patients were admitted to the hospital for respiratory failure. In 2022-2023, we registered more admissions for bacterial pneumonia and the need for intravenous therapy. Conclusions: Lower respiratory tract diseases are frequent in the pediatric population, and the risk of respiratory failure is higher. Analysing the differences between the two years of study, we underline how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the epidemiology of acute respiratory infections in children.