The first wave of COVID-19 spread worldwide from March to May 2020. Italy was one of the countries in the world where the lockdown period was most prolonged and restrictive. To date, the impact of prolonged lockdown on pediatric traumas has not fully investigated. This paper aimed to analyze, and compare to 2019, the incidence and the fracture pattern in patients admitted to our pediatric hospital during the total lockdown period. A single-center retrospective study was performed. The data were gathered from the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) of the Bambino Gesù Children Hospital of Rome (Palidoro). This PED is the pediatric referral center for Rome and the hub for pediatric traumas of the region. Any admission diagnosis for fracture, trauma, sprains and dislocation during the lockdown period (10 March–4 May) were included. The demographic data, diagnosis, type of treatment, fracture segment, bone involvement and time interval between trauma and presentation to the PED were recorded. In 2020, a reduction of total traumas and fractures, compared to 2019 (p < 0.001), occurred (81%). Superior limb and inferior limb fractures decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 (p < 0.05). The identification of pediatric traumas and fractures trend could be useful to reorganize the PED. Epidemiological data from the previous lockdown could be helpful to prepare the healthcare system for new pandemic waves. Moreover, sharing national statistics and correlating those to other countries’ protocols, could be helpful to solve problems in case of worldwide emergency situations.

The child obesity and its complications are associated with an alarming increased health care use, including the emergency department (ED). We evaluated the effects of the obesity and overweight in children admitted to ED, especially in patients with injury diagnosis. A retrospective study of patients aged 6–18 years was conducted. Patients were categorized into normal weight (body mass index, BMI < 85th); overweight (BMI ≥ 85th e < 95th); obesity (BMI ≥ 95th). Multiple logistic analysis was used for estimation of risk factors associated with the BMI and to explore the association between injury diagnosis and BMI. The predictive factors associated with obesity and overweight were school age (p < 0.001), male gender (p < 0.001) and number of visits for year (obesity: p < 0.001 and overweight: p < 0.05). Obese children were less at injury risk than normal weight (p < 0.05). In injury subset, fractures in school age were more likely to occur in obesity (p < 0.01). Dislocated fractures (p < 0.01) and fractures at lower extremity were more likely to occur in obesity and overweight (p < 0.05). School age children presenting to ED are more at risk of excess body weight than adolescents and are at higher fracture risk if obese and overweight. This has clear implication to support the efforts to reduce the obesity in childhood. The ED may represent a crucial setting for the early identification of these children and of co-morbidities related BMI ≥ 85th, and for a timely specialist referral of these children, especially if school age.

Background: Numerous studies described the epidemiological link and main clinical features of pediatric COVID-19, during the first pandemic period. Our study encompasses several different phases since the National Lockdown in Italy. The primary outcome is (I) to analyze the prevalence of positive NST (Nasopharyngeal Swab Test) among the largest Italian Pediatric cohort admitted to a single regional PED Hub for COVID-19 during an eight-month period. Secondary outcomes are: (II) the description of trend of admissions in our PED and (III) the categorization of the positive patients according to clinical manifestations and epidemiological link. Methods: We described 316 patients with a positive NST for SARS-CoV2, on a total of 5001 nasopharyngeal swabs performed among 13,171 admissions at our PED, over a period starting from March 17th, 2020 to December 1st, 2020. Age, epidemiological link, clinical features and hospitalizations were analyzed according to different lockdown phases. Data were collected anonymously from electronic records and analyzed using SPSS 22.00 statistics software (Chicago, IL). Results: Thirty-six percent of total admissions have been tested. During the post lockdown period, we performed the highest percentage of NST (Nasopharyngeal Swab Test) 49.7%, and among them 7.9% were positive. The prevalence of infection during a 10-month period was 2.3%. Mean age was 6.5 years old. Familial Link accounted for the 67.7% of infection, while Extrafamilial and Unknown link accounted for 17 and 14.9%, respectively. Familial link is predominant during all phases. Seventeen patients showed an intra-scholastic link, and the highest prevalence was observed in the 7–10 years age group, with a prevalence of 12.8% (5 patients). Fever was the most frequent symptom (66%), in particular among preschooler children aged 0–6 years (71.9%). Older children were more frequently symptomatic. Seven patients were admitted with MIS-C diagnosis. Conclusions: Different levels of containment measures caused important changes in number of positive NST for SARS-CoV2. Familial link was predominant in our cohort, during all phases of Lockdown. The risk of being infected at home is four time greater than the risk of being infected from an extra familial individual. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clear impact of intra-scholastic link. The constant improvement in knowledge on onset symptoms and risk factor for SARS-CoV2 infection and its complications (e.g. MIS-C), can impact on number of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and early management.