Etiological structure of acute respiratory viral infections in children hospitalized in infectious diseases hospitals in Saint Petersburg in 2017–2022

BACKGROUND: The etiological structure of acute respiratory viral infections in children is diverse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem of diagnosing infectious diseases of the respiratory tract in children has become particularly relevant. AIM: The aim is to analyze the etiological structure of acute respiratory viral infections in children hospitalized in infectious hospitals in Saint Petersburg in 2017–2022. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The analysis of data on the etiology of acute respiratory viral infections obtained from 1,561 patients aged 1 month to 17 years hospitalized in children’s infectious diseases hospitals in St. Petersburg in the period 2017–2022 is presented. The children were divided into three age groups: group I — 1 month to 3 years (n = 600), group II — 3–6 years (n = 534), group III — older than 6 years (n = 427). The etiological interpretation was carried out by the PCR method. The observation period was divided into epidemic seasons: 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. RESULTS: The viral etiology of the disease in children was diagnosed in 88.6% of cases. The predominance of influenza viruses was observed in 2017/2018 (22.6%) and 2018/2019 (23.8%), and 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 — the dominance of new (SARS-CoV-2) and seasonal coronaviruses (CoV-OC43 and CoV-229E). Acute rhinopharyngitis was recorded in 33.5% of cases and acute bronchitis/bronchial obstruction syndrome in 25.2% of cases. Stenosing laryngotracheitis was more often observed in young children (5.6%), pneumonia — in all age groups (3.3–4.2%). Acute respiratory viral infections caused by coronaviruses was characterized by the involvement of both the upper (48.2%) and lower (51.8%) parts of the respiratory tract in the infectious process. CONCLUSIONS: The study of the viral landscape in hospitalized children with respiratory infection during 2017–2022 revealed a change in the etiological structure of acute respiratory viral infections associated with the appearance of a new coronavirus in 2019 and the gradual displacement of other respiratory viruses from circulation.