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Let’s immediately dispel a doubt: in children it is not possible to distinguish the symptoms of seasonal flu from those of Covid-19, if not by means of swabs. Therefore, a “timely” intervention by both parents and pediatrician prevents the worst, especially in terms of the spread of infection. Professor Paolo Biasci, president of Fimp, the Italian Federation of Pediatricians, is convinced of this: “Obviously we are not talking about a sporadic sneeze! The scientific literature speaks for itself: even the influenza virus can manifest itself with a whole series of symptoms including fever, cough, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, sore throat, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), rhinorrhea (mucous discharge through the nose) and nasal congestion that can occur individually or in association with each other “.
For this reason, especially in children who most of the time are paucisymptomatic, that is, with very mild symptoms (“only in 50% of cases or a little more there is fever, judged as equivalent to an ongoing disease”) , it becomes difficult, in fact. “It is impossible,” the professor tells us, “to distinguish what type of infection, especially in the fall and winter season, caused these symptoms. Therefore, the buffer is required “.
The way forward for symptoms in children
The subject is particularly current. With the reopening of schools and the fall upon us, parents are wondering what procedure to follow in case of symptoms in their children. We tried to do a simulation with Professor Biasci to understand the path together. “The first thing to do before the appearance of flu symptoms is to contact the pediatrician or family doctor who immediately performs a telephone triage and then a televised report of the child,” explains the teacher. After the detection of symptoms, we must ask “promptly”, which means immediately, the diagnostic test that we know and that is the swab. But we do not say this: we follow the indications of an official document drawn up by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, approved by the State-Regions Conference and attached on September 7 to the Dpcm that came out that day and it has value as an operational guideline. “
And here is the first hurdle. Many parents are reported to consider doctors who order tampons for their children “terrorists” when even one of the symptoms appears. “Pediatricians and doctors MUST request the diagnostic test,” specifies the president of the Fimp. Not only for the health of the affected child, but for the entire community, because we must think that the swab and the detection of Covid are not only necessary for the subject, but also and above all to carry out health surveillance and prevent the spread of the disease. infection. “.
Timely buffers, but delayed results
In short: symptoms, pediatrician, swab, result. Sounds easy right? But this is where the second hurdle comes in. “My son has been home for 10 days with a cold. Without a notebook, there is no school ”, a mother complains. It is just one of the many “quarantine” stories not “justified” by certain results that are emerging these days and that appear alongside timely interventions. “Do you want to know how it is possible?”, The professor tells us. “From a brief survey conducted in all regions by Fimp, we had this response: from the moment the pediatrician sends the request for the diagnostic test until the moment he receives the report. the test lasts an average of 4-5 days. And this is inadmissible ”. As for the lady, “you have to see when the pediatrician asked for the swab: if he did it early, okay, if maybe he gave her some advice and missed the first 48 hours, it is clear that we found them at the time of diagnosis.” and Covid exclusion. But now I will ask you a question ”. You’re welcome.
“If we knew what would happen, if we knew that September 15 would arrive, if we fixed hospitals, doubled intensive care, created Covid laboratories everywhere, if we said throughout phase 2 that we had to invest in the territory, because now We are faced with the fact that the average of having the results of the swab is 4-5 days, when if you go to the emergency room with the same symptoms do you have the result of the swab in 3-4 hours? Why have the regions not really invested in the territory and not in words? ”.
A question that many begin to ask themselves. “I think so well,” he adds, “if I were a father I would think: but sorry, I went to the pediatrician, he asked me for the swab, as planned. Why is it that if he asks for the tampon at 9 in the morning they don’t call me in the afternoon to do it? Why are times lengthening when, instead, we could have the results in 24 hours and manage the situation promptly? “.
The rapid tests we are talking about these days would solve the problem a lot, but Biasci explains to us again “they have not yet been validated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, they are evaluating them. When they arrive, they will facilitate the situation because they offer an answer in 15 minutes and because the simplicity of execution allows to do more tests with the same amount of resources used.
Paucisymptomaticity and increased cases in children
We have always known that children tend to be paucisymptomatic: very few children under the age of 12 have significant complications from a clinical point of view in the case of Covid. “From this point of view nothing has changed”, says the professor. “What is changing and what we intuit from the first data is the fact that the number of tampons that test positive in children is increasing. We are not surprised: phases 1 and 2 were carried out in spring and summer and the children were in maximum confinement (the real one was only done by them who had no reason to leave home when schools were closed: no school, no gym , without work, without expenses).
Now things are changing: “The fall and winter season, schools open: what we hope is maximum attention in the pediatric age, until now we put a little in the ‘canteen’ because we were precisely attentive to the elderly.”
The flu vaccine can certainly help stop the spread of the seasonal virus, especially in a Covid emergency situation: “It has always been recommended for categories at risk and also for children. This year there is an extra emphasis because the 6 months-6 years class has been identified that is the most affected by the ministry’s data: each year children of this age get sick 8 times more than the elderly ”.
Therefore, the advice is to prevent and avoid what can be avoided. “Also because”, explains President Fimp, “after an infection by the influenza virus, there is also a certain decrease in the efficiency of the immune system for a few weeks: if a child has to be infected with Covid, it is good that it happens in the best possible conditions. ” . Then you have to get vaccinated ”.
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