Respiratory Diagnoses Year-Round: Unraveling the Multifaceted Pediatric Infection Cycles.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The aim of the study is to analyze the annual cycle of pediatric medically attended respiratory illnesses.

Study design

Data on 141 million pediatric respiratory visits from the years 2010-2019 were obtained from the Polish National Healthcare Fund. To identify underlying patterns and trends within the aggregated data, techniques like seasonal-trend decomposition using LOESS (STL) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied.

Results

A strongly recurring pattern was observed. Following the annual minimum in late summer, there was a sudden surge in upper respiratory infections in early September. Subsequently, overall visits declined gradually, while the share of lower respiratory infections increased, particularly during the influenza peaks from Janua

SUBMITTER: Walkowiak MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11534662 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature