Article in Japanese

Characteristics of COVID-19 in the 7th and 8th waves and structures of the patient acceptance： A multicenter observational study

Yumiko Suzuki^1）, Yusuke Ito^{2, 3）}, Yoshiki Kusama^4）, Minae Yoshida^5）, Yuka Toyoshima^5）, Chihiro Miyakoshi^6）, Masashi Kasai^7）

We investigated the differences in the characteristics of COVID-19 between the 7th and 8th waves of the pandemic in hospitalized pediatric patients at three prefectural hospitals in Hyogo Prefecture： Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital (Kodomo), Amagasaki General Medical Center (Amagasaki), and Awaji Medical Center (Awaji). The role of each hospital within the prefectural medical system was also evaluated. Pediatric patients with COVID-19 admitted between June 18, 2022, and February 22, 2023, were included, particularly 240 children in the 7th wave and 206 children in the 8th wave. The number of children with comorbidities increased in the 8th wave (42％) compared to the 7th wave (25％) (p＜0.01). Although most cases were mild cases both in the 7th wave and 8th wave, the number of cases treated with oxygen increased from 12％ to 19％ (p＝0.032). In Kodomo and Amagasaki, >50％ of patients were admitted from outside the city, while in Awaji, 85％ of patients were admitted from the Awaji island (p＜0.01). The major pre-admission location was home in Kodomo and Amagasaki, but medical facilities in Awaji (p＝0.015). In Awaji, admitted from home accounted for the largest proportion (67％) in the 7th wave but dropped to 35％ in the 8th wave, and medical facilities accounted for the largest proportion (65％). Although each facility provided medical care tailored to the local situation, functions and develop medical care coordination should be distinguished to prepare for emerging infectious diseases.

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1）Department of Pediatrics, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki Medical Center
2）Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki Medical Center
3）Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki Medical Center
4）Department of Infectious Diseases, Osaka University Hospital
5）Division of Intensive Care Unit, Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital
6）Department of Pediatrics, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital
7）Division of Infectious Diseases, Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital

Key words	COVID-19, Omicron variant, eighth wave, medical system
Received	June 21, 2024
Accepted	October 14, 2024

36 (4)：337─344,2024