Abstract
PURPOSE: During fall 2021, children's hospitals in Germany faced a surge in RSV-related hospitalizations, whereas during fall/winter 2022-2023, RSV and influenza infections both led to increased inpatient admissions. Our study prospectively assessed severe acute respiratory infections, their causative pathogens, and the resulting disease burden on German children's hospitals for the fall/winter 2023-2024 season. METHODS: From October 3, 2023 through April 16, 2024, children hospitalized with ARI as a primary diagnosis were monitored via a national survey established by the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI). Weekly data was collected on total hospital admissions, ARI-related admissions by pathogen (SARS-CoV-2, RSV, influenza, other), ICU admissions with ARI as a primary diagnosis, and respiratory support. RESULTS: Overall, 23% of German children's hospitals (77/334 centers) submitted 1234 survey reports. ARI-related hospital admissions surged starting in November 2023 and peaked in late December 2023 (53.4% of all admissions), in parallel with a peak in the average number of newly-admitted patients (aNA) with RSV (2.5 aNA). In comparison to the 2022/2023 season, fewer newborns and infants were admitted for ARI (4.7%, p < 0.001/1.9%, p = 0.05) and fewer required ICU treatment (5.3%, p = 0.02/5.6%, p = 0.001 respectively). In 74.9% of ICU patients, ventilation support was required-9.1% less than in the previous season. CONCLUSION: The clinical burden on pediatric hospitals and ICUs is strongly influenced by the changing, annually circulating pathogens and affected age group. Therefore, a continuous, systematic, dynamic collection of ARI data is critical for assessing the ARI-related morbidity and the associated burden on health care systems.