The COVID-19 pandemic, through the restrictions and the non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented, has importantly impacted the circulation and epidemiology of respiratory viruses. Specifically, the 2020/21 season was entirely dominated by SARS-CoV-2, while influenza activity reached an all-time low, despite initial warnings that a double concurrent epidemic could be possible. The current season, 2021/22, started with the shift of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants from delta to omicron, which then rapidly spread globally, as most countries, including Romania, removed all restrictions and compulsory non-pharmaceutical interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the pediatric population, particularly on their access to health services. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the influence that the pandemic, and its related containment and mitigation public health measures, had on pediatric emergencies and hospitalizations in a major tertiary pediatric hospital in Bucharest, Romania, during the first six months of the pandemic, March−August 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. In these first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pediatric emergencies decreased 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccination is one of the most useful medical interventions for controlling certain infectious diseases. The aim of current research is to identify some of the drivers of vaccine hesitancy or acceptance in a rather skeptical European population by addressing parental perception on optional vaccination (OV) perception. Novel tools, delivered by social media, were used in our research attempt.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial diseases of childhood with an increased frequency in infants and young children.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of children diagnosed with UTI in the Alessandrescu-Rusescu National Institute for Mother and Child Health, Bucharest, Romania between January 2017 and December 2019. We evaluated the patients' clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters and the resistance profile of the identified uropathogens.
Excess body weight in children has become a public health issue in most countries. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children over two years of age who presented at the Emergency Department of a tertiary pediatric hospital in Bucharest, Romania. Between July and August 2018, we conducted a prospective study among children who presented at the Emergency Department of "Alessandrescu-Rusescu" National Institute for Mother and Child Health, Bucharest, Romania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF