Spike in flu-like illnesses among kids

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This article was published 17/11/2023 (711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More children are ending up in the emergency room with flu symptoms as Manitoba’s largest hospital gears up for another seasonal spike in respiratory illnesses.

The emergency department at Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital has added a contingency admissions space to make room for children who need to be admitted to hospital, emergency department medical director Dr. Karen Gripp said.

“Thankfully, it’s not as bad as last year. Last November was the worst we’ve ever seen with the triple-demic,” Gripp said, referring to spikes in serious infections of COVID, influenza and respiratory syncyctial virus (RSV).

“Average numbers a day were up to 170, which was very stressful and stretching for our department. So far in November, we’re seeing an average of 130, which is comparable to winters prior to the COVID pandemic.”

In fall 2019, patient volumes topped 200 per day during flu-season spikes, and 201 children in the ER on Nov. 13, 2022 was a record-high single-day total.

“So, it’s a little too early to say, but we’re definitely seeing an uptick in numbers, and that will continue to get worse before it gets better,” Gripp said.

Last weekend, the children’s emergency department saw 138 patients with flu-like symptoms, compared with 105 the previous weekend, from Nov. 4 to Nov. 6. Patient volumes in the ER have increased over the past couple of weeks, along with the rise in flu infections. The 14-day average for children presenting with influenza-like illness is 40 per day, up from 33 a day in October. Overall, about 129 patients per day are visiting the ER, up from 122 last month, according to the 14-day averages provided by Shared Health.

Even otherwise healthy children are becoming seriously ill with flu symptoms, and some have needed breathing support or resuscitation. Fortunately, Gripp said, that happens with only a small proportion of patients. She reminded the public to get flu shots and COVID boosters for eligible children.

Children are coming in with influenza, RSV and, to a lesser extent, COVID-19, Gripp said, saying hospital staff are seeing parents who are worried about their children having fevers for several days. Some viruses cause lengthy fevers. In general, children don’t need urgent treatment for fevers, Gripp said. They should come to the ER if the fever lasts longer than a week, and they’re dehydrated or haven’t urinated in more than 12 hours. They should go to the ER if a child younger than three months old has a fever. The increase in patient volumes means children who aren’t as sick will have to wait longer.

“We will always see the very sickest patients, so from a public reassurance point of view, if your child is very ill, they will get the care they need,” Gripp said.

So far, the increase in patients hasn’t filled up the pediatric intensive care unit, affected surgeries or caused the hospital to implement other contingency plans or surge protocols, Gripp said.

They’ve added some ER physicians and nurses, are working on patient flow between units, and haven’t had to redeploy nurses from other hospital units to help out in the ER.

“What we’ve done is try to increase baseline staffing of emergency nurses in children’s emergency and also planning to try to increase clinical support with more nurses who are specifically trained emergency nurses if needed,” Gripp said.

”So far, there haven’t been any redeployments or reassignments of nursing staff.”

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com