Alberta’s children’s hospitals are under intense pressure as they deal with an influx of sick children and an increasing number of seriously ill patients.
Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary and Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton are battling an onslaught of viral illnesses, including influenza, RSV, and common cold viruses.
They are also seeing some cases of COVID-19.
“This is by far the busiest pediatric emergency department in the entire country that has probably ever existed,” said Dr. Stephen Freedman, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the University of Calgary.
“When you combine [ongoing staffing shortages] With very high volumes of children seeking care in the emergency department and the acuity, which is quite high, that is really leading to bursting emergency departments.”
Since the end of September, posted wait times have ballooned to 17 hours at Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) and 16.5 hours at Stollery.
Dr. Stephen Freedman is a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. (Supplied by Dr. Stephen Freedman)
Increase in severe cases
The number of children classified as ACH needing urgent, emergent and critical care (in the form of resuscitation) increased 24% in September compared to the same month in 2021, according to Alberta Health Services.
Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton experienced a 5.5 percent increase.
Admissions to children’s hospitals also increased, according to AHS.
“The Stollery and Alberta Children’s Hospital have been overwhelmed,” said Dr. Sam Wong, president of the pediatrics section of the Alberta Medical Association.
With so many children getting sick, he said, they’re seeing an increased number of seriously ill children, including some preteens who are particularly affected by the flu.
“They are ending up in the ICU requiring intubation and blood pressure support. So it’s a serious illness,” she said.
Four of the 13 Albertans who have ended up in intensive care with the flu so far this season have been children under the age of nine.
Dr. Sam Wong is president of the pediatrics section of the Alberta Medical Association. He works at Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. (Submitted by Sam Wong)
It’s a trend that Dr. Eddy Lang is also seeing among children with RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.
“We’ve seen very sick children walk into all of our Calgary emergency departments with markedly low oxygen levels caused by the RSV virus,” said Lang, Calgary area chief of emergency medicine.
“Some just need a few days in the hospital on oxygen. But some are so sick that they required intubation and being put on a ventilator to help them breathe while fighting this infection.”
According to the latest data provided by AHS, pediatric ER visits in September were just below five-year highs.
But doctors say volumes have increased since then, and the problem is that it’s unclear when this viral surge will peak.
“What we’re seeing this year is an early and abrupt increase in the number of cases,” said Dr. Jim Kellner, a Calgary-based pediatric infectious disease specialist.
What is behind the wave of diseases?
Kellner, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, points to two leading theories about what is driving this trend.
First, with COVID-related public health measures in place for so long, there are large groups of children who have not been exposed to the virus and may be more susceptible.
Dr. Jim Kellner, an infectious disease specialist at Alberta Children’s Hospital, says the rise in viral illness among children is hitting early and hard this year. (Provided by the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force)
The second is that SARS-CoV-2 is acting like other viruses, including measles, which can trigger a phenomenon known as “immune amnesia.”
A measles infection can weaken the body’s immune system, he said, essentially making it forget its pre-existing immunity to other pathogens and leading to more serious infections with other diseases in the future.
“I think it’s unlikely that either perspective is completely correct. I think that SARS-CoV-2… like many other pathogens… may make people more susceptible to other things happening later,” he said. .
“Similarly, if you have a group of children who haven’t been exposed to things for a while, there may be a larger group of children who can get sick.”
Meanwhile, a side effect of the high patient volumes that has affected adult hospitals in the province is now manifesting itself in children’s hospitals.
There are a large number of admitted pediatric patients who are stuck in the ER while waiting for a bed on the wards.
“There are children in both Stollery and [Alberta Children’s Hospital] who spend extended periods in the emergency department because hospitals are over 100 percent capacity and they don’t have a bed to go up to,” Lang said.
“Given that’s one of the first times we’ve seen that happen, it suggests to me that the severity of the viral infection season, as soon as it’s now unfolding, is creating significant stresses on the system.”
As frontline healthcare workers struggle to keep up with the growing demand, doctors are urging parents to take some simple precautions, like getting kids vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19.
There are two other key steps families can take, according to Kellner.
“Stay home if you are sick and consider wearing masks in public, including at schools, grocery stores [and] other places where there are a lot of people.
Source: news.google.com