Hospitals delaying pediatric surgeries as patients with RS infections fill child ICUs
Hospitals in the Netherlands are being forced to delay scheduled surgeries and other planned care for children as the seven pediatric intensive care units have a shortage of available beds. There are about 90 pediatric ICU beds in the country, and about half of them are currently being used by children infected with the Respiratory Syncytial Virus who have developed serious respiratory problems, according to NOS and AD.
The current wave of RS infections has yet to hit a peak this winter, meaning the proportion of children with complications related to RS is expected to increase in the intensive care units in the coming days. This could force the cancellation of more planned care, like heart surgeries, as there will not be an available ICU location for recovery.
"The situation is challenging, but care is guaranteed," said Lissy de Ridder, chair of the Dutch Association for Pediatrics (NVK). "Pediatricians throughout the Netherlands are working closely together to coordinate admissions and also potential transfers. In some regions, contact is being made with hospitals across the border, but it is also busy there," the doctor told NOS.
About one out of every 56 healthy infants ends up in a hospital due to the RS virus. The viral infection carries symptoms like a runny nose, cough and fever, which can then lead to wheezing, and brief moments where the individual is unable to breathe. The infected person can be seen straining their chest and stomach as they try to breathe, among other signs of respiratory distress. The skin may also turn blue around the lips and fingertips.
The virus is the second most common cause of death in children globally after malaria, and is especially dangerous for premature babies, children with congenital heart condition, and children with Down syndrome. Intensive care units treat up to 200 children with severe symptoms from RS every year, with several hundred others hospitalized in non-intensive care departments.
The access to care means children rarely die from the disease in the country, NOS reported. The Netherlands will also begin using a vaccine against RS later this year, available for babies in their first 12 months. This could potentially cut down on 80 percent of hospital admissions.
But the current situation means that parents and guardians may also have to travel a greater distance to sit with their hospitalized child, or that families have to contend with rescheduled procedures. "We realize that this is incredibly unpleasant for the children and parents who have to deal with this," she also said to ANP. "It is a difficult choice, but with these measures we can guarantee the greatest level of acute care and help every seriously ill child."
