Children’s hospitals overwhelmed by early virus season surge

Hospital beds for sick children are in short supply as an early virus season is hitting hard and leading to an unprecedented surge in pediatric patients.

In addition to COVID-19 and flu season, a significant increase in a common illness known as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) means longer wait times to see a doctor, and the problem is only expected to get worse as winter arrives with health experts fearing a “tripledemic.”

SickKids Hospital in Toronto has warned of longer wait times and one Toronto mom spoke to CityNews about the stressful experience of getting her two-year-old daughter treated for double pneumonia.

“The emergency room was chaos, there were so many people there,” says Stefania Walsh.

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She and her daughter Lily arrived at SickKids on Sunday evening after the toddler experienced trouble breathing. Walsh says it took several hours to be triaged and another 14 hours for to find a pediatric bed for her daughter once a doctor decided the two-year-old should be admitted.

“They said they were trying to find somewhere in the community because they were overrun, but they were all full in all of the other community hospitals,” she says. “We were very fortunate to get a bed here.”

Parents are being warned it could take as long as 12 hours to see a doctor and more than 24 hours to get a bed.

“I spoke to the nurse (Wednesday) morning to see how things are going, she said ‘it’s crazy.’ They discharge one patient and within minutes another one is sent up,” Walsh says.

Lily is slowly recovering from a likely case of RSV and her mother says she expects her to remain in the hospital for a few more days.

CHEO also reporting surge in RSV, unprecedented demand

Other pediatric hospitals in the province are experiencing crushing demand, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) reported its busiest September on record, with an early surge in RSV to blame.

The hospital says the number of admissions are 10 times higher than the average before the pandemic.

Dr. Melissa Langevin, an emergency room physician at CHEO, says the surge may be a result of children not being able to build up regular immunity to the virus due to the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we are seeing now is a cohort of kids who have had a lot less exposure to viruses,” Langevin says.

A CHEO spokesperson said the hospital has admitted 30 children with RSV so far this month, compared to pre-pandemic years when it saw an average of three admissions in the month of October.

The RSV resurgence began last fall in what the hospital called an “early and significant” season with record admissions in September, October and November. The virus usually circulates from November through March.

RSV can typically be treated at home and regular symptoms include a fever, cough and congestion, but Langevin warns the virus is normally worse in toddlers and it can persist for several days. More concerning symptoms include trouble breathing and lethargy.

“The peak tends to be in days four and five,” she says. “It usually gets worse before it gets better.”

Langevin says caregivers should keep an infected child well-hydrated and use a “snot sucker” to help alleviate any congestion. If the child is under two months old, they should be taken to an emergency department, she said.

A spokesperson of McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton says they also remain concerned about hospital capacity, with reports of an unusually high seasonal surge in viral illnesses.

With files from The Canadian Press