Yen Chen-Wei, Lee Jung, Lee En-Pei, Chang Yi-Jung, Yen Po-Cheng, Chen Chyi-Liang, Chiu Cheng-Hsun
Division of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Division of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Pediatr Neonatol. 2025 Mar;66(2):102-109. doi: 10.1016/j.pedneo.2024.02.007. Epub 2024 Jun 5.
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 outbreak started in Taiwan in April 2022. The pandemic posed a challenge to pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) because of increased PED visits and diverse clinical presentations.
We analyzed the clinical characteristics and impact of the Omicron BA.2 pandemic in patients who visited our PED from April 2022 to July 2022. The data from the Alpha variant pandemic during the same period in 2021 were compared with these findings.
Overall, 10,878 children were enrolled, and 7047 (64.8%) children were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. They had a mean ± SD age of 5.3 ± 4.1 years. The rates of patients with Pediatric Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (Ped-TTAS) level 1 (most urgent) (12.3%) and level 2 (27.6%) increased. More children were triaged as most urgent during the Omicron BA.2 pandemic than during the Alpha variant pandemic (p < 0.001). Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were likely to present with high fever, croup, dyspnea, febrile seizures, headache, dizziness, and myalgia (all p < 0.001). Four hundred and eleven (5.8%) patients were admitted; 25 (0.4%) patients needed intensive care, including 11 (44.0%) with encephalopathy or encephalitis. Three (0.04%) patients died due to fulminant encephalitis, encephalitis with septic shock, and respiratory failure.
The number of PED visits and the Ped-TTAS level of disease severity significantly increased during the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 outbreak. The most common symptom was fever, and high fever was more common in patients with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 infection. The rates of patients with croup and febrile seizures also increased.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）奥密克戎BA.2毒株疫情于2022年4月在台湾地区暴发。由于儿科急诊科（PED）就诊人数增加且临床表现多样，此次疫情给儿科急诊科带来了挑战。
我们分析了2022年4月至2022年7月期间到我院儿科急诊科就诊的患者中奥密克戎BA.2毒株疫情的临床特征及影响。将2021年同期阿尔法毒株疫情的数据与这些结果进行比较。
共纳入10878名儿童，其中7047名（64.8%）儿童SARS-CoV-2感染呈阳性。他们的平均年龄±标准差为5.3±4.1岁。台湾儿科分诊及 acuity 量表（Ped-TTAS）1级（最紧急）（12.3%）和2级（27.6%）患者的比例增加。与阿尔法毒株疫情期间相比，奥密克戎BA.2毒株疫情期间被分诊为最紧急的儿童更多（p<0.001）。SARS-CoV-2感染患者可能出现高热、喉炎、呼吸困难、热性惊厥、头痛、头晕和肌痛（所有p<0.001）。411名（5.8%）患者入院；25名（0.4%）患者需要重症监护，其中11名（44.0%）患有脑病或脑炎。3名（0.04%）患者因暴发性脑炎、伴有感染性休克的脑炎和呼吸衰竭死亡。
在SARS-CoV-2奥密克戎BA.2毒株疫情暴发期间，儿科急诊科就诊人数及Ped-TTAS疾病严重程度级别显著增加。最常见的症状是发热，高热在SARS-CoV-2奥密克戎BA.2感染患者中更常见。喉炎和热性惊厥患者的比例也有所增加。
