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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1495848
This article is part of the Research Topic The Impact of Climate and Environmental Change on Epigenetics and Pediatric Health View all articles

Rotavirus Infections in the Pediatric Population: A Comparative Study of Pre-COVID and COVID-19 Pandemic Periods

Provisionally accepted
Bahar Öztelcan Gündüz Bahar Öztelcan Gündüz *Kazım Kutlutürk Kazım Kutlutürk Bülent Ünay Bülent Ünay
  • Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract Background: This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence and clinical outcomes of rotavirus infections in the pediatric population. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Pediatrics Clinic of Gülhane Research and Training Hospital, analyzing data from the pre-COVID-19 period (January 1, 2017 – January 1, 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic period (March 11, 2020 – August 31, 2022). Patient data, including demographic characteristics, presenting complaints, laboratory results, and hospitalization status, were collected from hospital records. Statistical comparisons were made to evaluate changes in rotavirus infection patterns between the two examined periods. Results: The data of a total of 3915 pediatric patients with diarrhea were included, with 468 (6.8%) testing positive for rotavirus. Three hundred and forty of these cases (72.6%) were detected during the COVID-19 pandemic period, while 128 cases (27.4%) were detected before the pandemic period. The median age of the patients was 2 years, while 62.7% were under two years of age. Significant differences were found between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods in terms of the number of emergency department visits (p=0.003) , the duration of emergency observations (p=0.001) and the rates of patient visits from urban or rural centers (p=0.001). Laboratory parameters, including blood sodium levels (p=0.02), neutrophil counts (p=0.02), base excess (p=0.03), and bicarbonate levels (p=0.05), also showed significant differences. Factors influencing hospitalization were found to be emergency department observation time (hours) with an OR of 0.91, 95% CI (0.867-0.974) (p=0.005), blood glucose levels with an OR of 1.03, 95% CI (1.02-1.05) (p=0.002), serum potassium levels with an OR of 2.36, 95% CI (1.14-4.87) (p=0.02), and CRP levels with an OR of 1.02, 95% CI (1.01-1.03) (p=0.006). Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the need for targeted interventions to manage rotavirus infections, particularly in the context of ongoing public health challenges. Understanding the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on rotavirus epidemiology is crucial for developing effective strategies to mitigate severe outcomes in vulnerable pediatric populations.

    Keywords: Rotavirus, COVID-19, Gastroenteritis, pediatric infections, emergency department, Hospitalization Factors

    Received: 13 Sep 2024; Accepted: 14 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Öztelcan Gündüz, Kutlutürk and Ünay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Bahar Öztelcan Gündüz, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye

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