How the Pandemic Impacted Resource Utilization in Hospitalized Children With Bacterial Infections.

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected laboratory and diagnostic test utilization in hospitalized children with common bacterial infections—cellulitis, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and urinary tract infections (UTI)—whose symptoms overlap with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Conducted as a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary pediatric hospital, it found increased laboratory and electrocardiogram (ECG) use during the pandemic’s peak period compared to pre-pandemic levels, with lab utilization returning to baseline post-peak but ECG use remaining elevated, especially among patients with UTI. Patients evaluated for MIS-C experienced longer emergency and hospital stays, delayed antibiotic initiation, and greater use of labs and imaging. The findings suggest that diagnostic uncertainty during the pandemic influenced resource use, highlighting opportunities to refine high value care practices in pediatric hospitalizations amid clinical ambiguity.