Objective Our objective was to test the hypothesis that in-hospital
respiratory viral infections (RVI) would be significantly lower in a
cohort of patients with established bronchopulmonary dysplasia in the
SARS-CoV-2 era when compared to historical controls. Study Design On
April 1, 2020, we implemented a universal infection prevention bundle to
minimize the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a dedicated
BPD intensive care unit. We performed a retrospective cohort study and
included patients with established BPD, as defined by the 2019 Neonatal
Research Network criteria, admitted to our center who underwent
real-time polymerase-chain-reaction RVI testing between January 1, 2015
and March 31, 2021. We excluded patients re-admitted from home. We
compared to number of tests performed, the proportion of positive tests,
and the distribution of viral respiratory pathogens in the pre- and
post-SARS-CoV-2 eras. Results Among 176 patients included in the sudy,
663 RVI tests were performed and 172 (26%) tests were positive. The
median number of tests performed, measured in tests per patient per
month, in the SARS-CoV-2 era was not significantly different compared to
the pre-SARS-CoV-2 era (0.45 vs 0.34 tests per patient per month, P =
0.07). The proportion of positive RVI tests was significantly lower in
the SARS-CoV-2 era when compared to the pre-SARS-CoV-2 era (0.06 vs
0.30, P<0.0001). No patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in
the SARS-CoV-2 era. Conclusions Infection prevention measures developed
in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic may reduce the risk of RVIs in
hospitalized patients with established BPD.
Zero health care–associated respiratory viral infections: impact of enhanced infection prevention on a renal unit during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
