Tachikawa Jun, Aizawa Yuta, Ikuse Tatsuki, Yamanaka Takayuki, Hasegawa Satoshi, Saitoh Akihiko
From the Department of Pediatrics, Niigata University, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.
Department of Pediatrics, Niigata City General Hospital, Niigata, Japan.
Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2025 Jan 28. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000004729.
The spread of the BA.5 Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has increased the number of hospitalized children. However, the impact of the spread of new omicron subvariants in children remains poorly described.
This prospective observational study evaluated the clinical characteristics of children hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in 13 hospitals in Niigata, Japan, during September 2022-February 2024. The data were divided and compared across 3 periods based on the dominant subvariants: BA.5/BF.5/BF.7 period (September 2022-April 2023), XBB/EG.5 period (May-December 2023) and BA.2.86/JN.1 periods (January-February 2024). In addition, the COVID-19 vaccination rates in hospitalized patients were compared with those in the general population.
In total, 298 children with COVID-19 were hospitalized during the study period. The patients' median ages were 4.7 years during the BA.5/BF.5/BF.7 period, 1.2 years during the XBB/EG.5 period and 2.4 years during the BA.2.86/JN.1 period. The peak monthly number of admissions decreased over time, with 44, 32, 19 cases/mo during the BA.5/BF.5/BF.7 period, the XBB/EG.5 period and the BA.2.86/JN.1 period, respectively. Dehydration/oral intake failure (37.2%, 111/298) and febrile seizures (16.8%, 50/298) were the predominant reasons for hospitalization. The COVID-19 vaccination rates in hospitalized children 5-11 years of age (11.1%) and 12-15 years of age (38.9%) were significantly lower than those in the general population (41.5% and 71.0%).
Although the clinical impact of the Omicron subvariants in children diminished over time, they continued to pose a risk. Continued efforts are needed to protect children from this evolving virus.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的BA.5奥密克戎变种的传播增加了住院儿童的数量。然而，新的奥密克戎亚变种传播对儿童的影响仍描述甚少。
这项前瞻性观察性研究评估了2022年9月至2024年2月期间日本新潟13家医院中因2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）住院的儿童的临床特征。根据主要亚变种将数据分为3个时期并进行比较：BA.5/BF.5/BF.7时期（2022年9月至2023年4月）、XBB/EG.5时期（2023年5月至12月）和BA.2.86/JN.1时期（2024年1月至2月）。此外，还比较了住院患者的COVID-19疫苗接种率与普通人群的接种率。
在研究期间，共有298名COVID-19儿童住院。在BA.5/BF.5/BF.7时期患者的中位年龄为4.7岁，XBB/EG.5时期为1.2岁，BA.2.86/JN.1时期为2.4岁。每月入院高峰数量随时间减少，在BA.5/BF.5/BF.7时期、XBB/EG.5时期和BA.2.86/JN.1时期分别为44例、32例、19例/月。脱水/经口摄入不足（37.2%，111/298）和热性惊厥（16.8%，50/298）是住院的主要原因。5至11岁（11.1%）和12至15岁（38.9%）住院儿童的COVID-19疫苗接种率显著低于普通人群（41.5%和71.0%）。
尽管奥密克戎亚变种对儿童的临床影响随时间减弱，但它们仍构成风险。需要继续努力保护儿童免受这种不断演变的病毒侵害。
