Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, China.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, China.
BMC Pediatr. 2024 Sep 21;24(1):600. doi: 10.1186/s12887-024-05082-6.
An increased incidence of brain abscesses was observed post-COVID-19 pandemic. However, it remains unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the epidemiology of brain abscesses. This study aimed to investigate changes in the epidemiology of brain abscesses pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic.
A retrospective study of demographic, clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics of patients with brain abscesses in Children's Hospital of Soochow University from 2015-2023 was performed.
A total of 34 patients were admitted to the hospital during the study. The post-COVID-19 cohort had an average of 5.5 cases/year, which is a 129.2% increase compared to the pre-COVID-19 cohort's average of 2.4 cases/year. Additionally, the rates of fever upon admission (86.36% vs 50%, p = 0.04) and experiencing high-grade fever within 6 weeks before admission (40.91% vs 8.33%, p = 0.044) were significantly increased. A potential rise in the rate of intensive care unit admission was observed (36.36% vs 8.33%, p = 0.113). The average value of globulin in the post-COVID cohort was significantly higher compared to the pre-COVID cohort (31.60 ± 5.97 vs 25.50 ± 5.08, p = 0.009). Streptococcal infections were the predominant cause of brain abscesses in both cohorts (40% vs 43.75%, p = 0.57).
There was a significant increase in the number of brain abscess patients after the COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the importance of children receiving the streptococcal vaccine.
新冠大流行后，脑脓肿的发病率有所增加。然而，新冠大流行如何影响脑脓肿的流行病学仍不清楚。本研究旨在调查新冠大流行前后脑脓肿的流行病学变化。
回顾性分析了 2015 年至 2023 年苏州大学附属儿童医院收治的脑脓肿患者的人口统计学、临床、影像学和实验室特征。
本研究共纳入 34 例患者。新冠大流行后组的平均年发病数为 5.5 例，较新冠大流行前组的平均年发病数 2.4 例增加了 129.2%。此外，入院时发热的比例（86.36% vs 50%，p=0.04）和入院前 6 周内高热的比例（40.91% vs 8.33%，p=0.044）均显著增加。重症监护病房收治率也有上升趋势（36.36% vs 8.33%，p=0.113）。新冠大流行后组的球蛋白平均值明显高于新冠大流行前组（31.60±5.97 vs 25.50±5.08，p=0.009）。两组中，链球菌感染都是脑脓肿的主要病因（40% vs 43.75%，p=0.57）。
新冠大流行后，脑脓肿患者数量显著增加。这突显了儿童接种链球菌疫苗的重要性。
