INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Amanda Harwell

Week 1 Discussion

            RSV was particularly bad this year.  Wyoming has seen an increase in the number of children and adults that are getting sick with RSV.  Experts believe that we are seeing these spikes due to the Covid 19 restrictions (Romo, 2022).  Children that normally are exposed very young to RSV had been protected due to all the Covid 19 restrictions.  When the restrictions were lifted children and even adults did not have immunities built up by frequent exposure (Romo, 2022).  The decreased immunity and exposure to this virus is causing a significant increase in the severity of RSV and causing an influx of patients to emergency rooms and pediatric intensive care units (Romo, 2022).  Most children are exposed to RSV before they are 2 years old, and the virus usually causes mild symptoms (Romo, 2022).  RSV can in younger children cause severe pneumonia and bronchitis (Romo, 2022).  To avoid RSV frequent hand washing and keeping small children away from people that have recently been sick is the best protection (Romo, 2022).

            The resurgence of RSV in our community could really affect our ability to take care of patients.  We already have been seeing a lot of flu and covid adding another respiratory virus could overwhelm an already busy hospital.  I currently am an emergency room nurse, and we see on average 80-90 patients a day.  During flu season we can see upwards of 110 patients a day adding RSV to that could be overwhelming for staff and resources.  We see many of these patients that just want to be tested for Covid, Flu, and RSV.  Patients don’t realize that this ties up an emergency room bed and nurse.  Taking away from patients that are extremely sick and even dying. 

            I believe we are seeing a resurgence of RSV because of the restrictions placed due to covid 19.  I think the lack of exposure to normal cold and RSV viruses that people usually encounter by just being around people caused immune systems to weaken.  We are now seeing children who are older between 5-12 coming into the emergency room extremely sick with RSV.  This is not something we saw in years past or very rarely, usually those children we did see had comorbidities.  However, these children we are currently seeing are healthy children.  I believe our role as nurses is to educate the community on ways to prevent RSV.  We need to educate the community on proper hand hygiene, staying home when sick, and covering your mouth when coughing.  We also need to educate parents when they are leaving the hospital with new babies to talk to their family and friends about letting them know if they feel sick.  Parents should feel empowered to speak up on behalf of their newborns and not feel like they are doing something wrong.

 

Reference

Romo, V. (2022, November 2). RSV is surging. here’s what to watch for and answers about treatment options. KPBS Public Media. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.kpbs.org/news/national/2022/11/02/rsv-is-surging-heres-what-to-watch-for-and-answers-about-treatment-options.