Comparison of Incidence of Respiratory Tract Infection in Pediatric Population Aged 1 Month to 13 Years During Pre- and PostCOVID Infection in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retro-prospective Observational Study

Background: After the restoration of COVID-19 lockdowns and the relaxation of general public health restrictions, an upswing in the incidence of respiratory diseases was observed. Respiratory illnesses have been soaring among children with the easing of public health measures and because of the “immunity debt” that they are experiencing now. Objectives: To identify and compare the incidence of respiratory tract infections in hospitalized children aged 1 month to 13 years in a tertiary care hospital from 2018 through 2023, covering three periods. To examine the difference in epidemiological characteristics such as age predilection, sex predilection, condition, mortality, and clinical and diagnostic investigations of community-acquired respiratory infections in three time periods (2018–2023). Materials and Methods: A retro-prospective observational study was conducted. Hospital records of the pediatric department were the source of data. Results: The total number of pediatric admissions in KIMS Al Shifa Hospital from August 2018 to May 2023 was 1,815, of which only 1,536 case files met the inclusion criteria. Among 1,536 cases, 642 admissions (pre-COVID period = 193 (41.9%), COVID period = 58 (19.8%), and post-COVID period = 391 (50.1%)) were due to non-COVID respiratory tract infections. This difference was found to be statistically significant (Chi-square = 80.2, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Most of our study group was affected under 5–10 years of age, and most were affected with lower respiratory tract infections and required hospitalization. The reason behind this resurgence was the relatively feeble immune system.