ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF PLACE OF RESIDENCE AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON HOSPITALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE
Authors:   St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Ivanov Dmitry , Moiseeva Karina ,   St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Vinogradova Irina ,   Perinatal Center, Yoshkar-Ola, Republic of Mari El, Russian Federation, Alekseeva Anna ,   St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Yuriev Vadim ,   St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Komissarova Marina ,   St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Danilova Viktoriya ,   St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Published: January 2024

Significance. Considering the importance of the first year of life for shaping the future health of a child, assessing the rates of hospitalization of children of this age group to a multidisciplinary children's hospital at the federal level, depending on the place of residence of the child, and studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalization of children is a relevant topic for research. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of the place of residence in a metropolis on the hospitalization of children in the first year of life in the year of active quarantine restrictions and after their cancellation. Material and methods. The study used information obtained from the medical information system "Ariadna", by sampling data on 2252 children in the first year of life, who were admitted to the children's multidisciplinary hospital of the St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University in 2020 and 2022. Results. In the structure of hospitalizations of children in the first year of life, patients from the closest Northern districts of St. Petersburg significantly prevailed. Due to stronger quarantine restrictions, most patients, regardless of their place of residence, were admitted to the hospital in 2020 on an emergency basis. In the post-COVID period, planned hospitalization of children from all districts of the city, except for the Northern ones, started to dominate, which was due to a high share of patients transported by ambulance (emergency care) to a hospital close to their place of residence. The stay in the children's multidisciplinary hospital of over 90% of the children was covered by the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and high-tech care. The share of these funding sources has increased in the post-COVID period, while the funds received from commercial sources and clinical trials have decreased. In the year of active anti-COVID restrictions, children most often became patients of the departments of pediatric and surgical profiles, as well as the ophthalmology department. Significant differences in the frequency of hospitalizations of children living in different areas of the metropolis have been identified. In the post-COVID period, the level of hospitalization of children to the infectious disease and dermatovenerological departments from all locations of the city increased, while, in parallel, the frequency of hospitalization of surgical patients decreased. During the years under study, children living in the Northern districts had the highest level of hospital admissions due to all classes of ICD-10 diseases. In general, in the children's hospital, there was a decrease in the frequency of hospitalizations of children in the first year of life due to all classes of diseases, except for certain conditions that occur in the perinatal period. Regardless of the place of residence, most of the children were discharged from the children's hospital with an improvement in their health. Conclusion. The study showed the impact of place of residence on the hospitalization of children in the first year of life during and after quarantine restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.