Articles: pandemics.
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This is a retrospective study that examines the risk of non-COVID-19 respiratory infection (RI)-related emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations among autistic adults. The study compares these findings to non-autistic adults using the 2018 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. ⋯ Individuals with autism were more likely to experience emergency department visits and hospitalizations because of respiratory infections than individuals without autism. Amid growing evidence of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the autistic population, the study findings highlight a broader, pre-existing burden of respiratory infections among adults with autism in the U.S. that extend beyond the recent pandemic.
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In the U.S., rural areas experience higher rates of adverse maternal health outcomes, but little data exists on rural/urban differences in pregnancy-associated deaths (PAD, all deaths during pregnancy and postpartum) or rural/urban differences in those deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Rural areas experience a high burden of pregnancy-associated death, and this inequity was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Characterizing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, RSV infections deviated from a previously reliable epidemiologic pattern of presentation. To investigate whether this change in RSV seasonality resulted in a change in frequency and severity of RSV infections, this single center retrospective study compares demographic and hospital factors during RSV seasons before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ During the first three RSV seasons after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our pediatric emergency departments saw more RSV positive patients than in the last three seasons beforehand. These patients were significantly older and less likely to be admitted, which may be partly due to increased respiratory viral testing during the pandemic. However, shorter LOS and decreased intubations despite increased respiratory support among admitted patients may indicate a paradigm shift in emergency department and inpatient management of severe RSV infections, perhaps encouraged by practice changes and resource limitations due to COVID-19. This information may better guide institutions in predicting resource needs after large-scale infectious disease outbreaks in the future.
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Survivors of acute respiratory failure (ARF) have complex healthcare needs postdischarge, frequently resulting in unmet needs. This prospective multicenter study explores the association between COVID-19 status and unmet healthcare needs in survivors of ARF following hospital discharge. We analyzed patient characteristics and unmet healthcare needs by COVID-19 status using a multivariable regression model with propensity weights. ⋯ The median (IQR) percentage of unmet healthcare needs was 26% (17%-36%), with follow-up appointments accounting for most unmet needs. Unmet medication needs were found to be very low at 6%. Despite the challenges in healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, our data suggest COVID status had no observable effect on unmet healthcare needs for ARF survivors, after controlling for patient baseline and clinical status.