“Here’s What Parents Can Do”
The syncytial virus (also called Vrs) in Rome according to the pediatricians and doctors of the emergency rooms and of the intensive diseases that follow the children. At Bambin Gesù access to the emergency room for syncytial virus – the same one that Vittoria, the 7-month-old daughter of Chiara Ferragni and Fedez – they started about a month and a half early (end of October 2021) against the usual trend (2019 and previous years) which saw a surge in cases at the end of December.
To date there are between 220 and 250 patient visits per day to the emergency room in Rome and about 120 to Palidoro. Little sick people who arrive at the two poles of the Child Jesus with all kinds of illnesses. Of these, about 40-45 children a day, counted on average between the two hospitals, are affected by bronchiolitis, most of them younger than 3 months of age.
“This year’s bronchitis, which began much earlier, came from France, then the virus descended in northern Italy and reached Rome”, Dr. Antonino Reale, head of pediatrics for the Baby Jesus emergency, explains to RomaToday, adding: “To date we have 45 children hospitalized for syncytial virus. After an initial difficulty, we have coped well with this emergency and there is no one waiting for hospitalization. We have managed to find room for everyone”.
The point to the Baby Jesus
“On average if we see 20 days, 8-9 we hospitalize them and send the others home with therapy. We are just under 50% of hospitalizations of those who access the emergency room. – underlines Dr. Reale – The therapy, that is The most seriously ill are above all newborns, those of the first months of life, or patients who are a little more fragile “, says the doctor, who reassures them:” Bronchiolitis are 10% of the total of small sick patients. The contagion now is contained”.
The most syncytial virus is the common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways of the lungs) and pneumonia in children under two years old, it can infect children of any age, although it is more common in those between 2 and 8 months. Most children are infected at least once in the first two years of life but not always severe.
How syncytial virus is treated
And how is it treated? “There are no specific vaccines to treat the diseases caused by this virus. – explains Dr. Reale – The cure is based on treating the effects of the virus on the system. Treatment of symptoms in severe cases may include an oxygen supplement if there is is respiratory failure (saturation less than 92%), infusing fluids intravenously (to prevent dehydration), feeding through a tube that goes from the nose into the stomach “and possibly” using bronchodilator drugs for aerosols to open the respiratory tract or use drugs antivirals “.
How parents should behave
“The phase of VRS in infants and young children is often mild, similar to a cold”, warns the head of pediatrics of the infant Jesus emergency: “Each child can present the symptoms in a different way, but the most common are the initial ones. However, we must pay attention to the escalation of events. We always start with colds and coughs. Usually the “infectors” are the siblings or the parents themselves. If the syncytial virus in older children from a simple cold or cough, in the children begin with rhinitis, then cold, then with cough and after 4-5 days there are difficulties up to the loss of appetite because it is difficult to breathe and instead “.
“The parent has to notice if there is this progression of the disease which leads to the difficulty of seeing. In reality it is very simple to see because the child is fatigued, one should not panic. The case of identifying the disease, at that point you will need to hear from your family pediatrician who will evaluate what to do. In case of doubt, if it is Saturday, Sunday, it is night and you cannot find your pediatrician, here at Bambin Gesù we are always ready. Here at the emergency room, we can also do oxygen saturation to get an even more complete picture “, says Dr. Reale who adds:” Children can also be reinfected by the virus because a first infection with Syncitial Respiratory Virus does not make them completely immune; in general, however, the subsequent infections are milder than the first “.