Wien Med Wochenschr. 2025 Sep 1. doi: 10.1007/s10354-025-01094-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV‑2 and RSV are common viral pathogens causing acute respiratory infections. While RSV often leads to severe cases in children under two years, severe Covid-19 cases in children are rare. This study analysed 264 hospitalised children (0-12 years) with SARS-CoV‑2 or RSV infections between September 2021 and March 2022. RSV infections were more severe than SARS-CoV‑2 infections: 55% of RSV patients required oxygen therapy compared to 9.5% of SARS-CoV-2 cases (p < 0.001). The duration of oxygen therapy was 2 ± 2.6 days for RSV and 0.3 ± 1.07 days for SARS-CoV‑2. RSV patients required significantly longer O2 therapy (p < 0.001) and had longer hospital stays (p < 0.001) than SARS-CoV‑2 Omicron cases. Compared to Delta, only the O2 therapy duration was significantly longer in RSV cases (p < 0.001). Delta patients had longer hospital stays than Omicron patients (p < 0.001).
PMID:40889028 | DOI:10.1007/s10354-025-01094-8
