Respiratory syncytial virus and human rhinovirus causing pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitalized children in a northeastern Brazilian capital

Introduction: Acute respiratory infections are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in Brazil. Pneumonia is largely responsible for this high rate, and children are the most affected age group. Objective: To characterize the clinical and epidemiological profile of children infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (HR) treated at public hospitals in the city of São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. Methods: Retrospective research with a quantitative approach carried out using the medical records of 1,658 pediatric patients from March 2020 to March 2021 admitted to three public hospitals. Collection was a check list aiming to obtain sociodemographic information, symptomatology, exams, treatment, and outcome (viral panel). The Chi-square test was performed for the association between the variable viral panel and the clinical and epidemiological data, with p<0.20. For Poisson regression fitted for significant variables,a p<0.05 was adopted. Results: 91.93% of cases were caused by RSV, with 83.87% occurring in São Luís (p=0.02 when associated with the viral panel), frequent in women (56.45%), and prevalent in the age group between two to 11 months (46.77%). Cough (91.94%) and fever (75.81%) were the most common signs and symptoms. Abdominal pain was statistically associated with the viral panel (p=0.02). Prematurity was the most frequent comorbidity (9.68%). Imaging, X-ray (54.84%), laboratory tests, blood count (93.55%) are the most common. Antibiotic therapy was used in 96.77%, and all cases led to death, associated with hemorrhage (96.77%). However, the fitted regression analysis showed no association between RSV and HR and clinical and epidemiological variables. Conclusion: RSV is an agent that causes severe respiratory infections in children and infants. It circulated during the COVID-19 pandemic period, making it extremely important to differentiate between the agents. The data obtained make it possible to plan effective strategies for the prevention, control, and treatment of these diseases, avoiding the abusive use of medication and reducing morbidity and mortality rates in children.