The Burden of Streptococcus Pneumoniae-Related Admissions in Pediatric Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study Between Years 2018-2023 From a Southern Italian Region.

Background: Pneumococcus are often found in the respiratory tract of healthy people, especially children, and are a common cause of infections such as otitis media, sinusitis, conjunctivitis and community-acquired pneumonia. In other cases, the bacteria can cause more serious conditions known collectively as invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), which include meningitis, bacteremia and osteomyelitis. Aims: The aim of the present study was to determine the burden and incidence of hospitalizations caused by S. pneumoniae in the pediatric population resident in Abruzzo region, Italy. Methods: This was a retrospective study. All admissions performed during the period 2018-2023 were extracted from the hospital discharge records. Hospitalization rates were directly standardized for age and gender, accordingly to the population of Abruzzo region. Results: The annual hospitalization rate for SP pneumonia during the study period showed a significant decrease between the years 2018-2021 with an APC of -14.6 (95% CI: -36.1-0.6), followed by a substantial increase across the period 2021-2023 with a significant APC of 74.2 (95% CI: 27.9-127.3). For meningitis, an increasing trend was observed between 2018 and 2020, with an AAPC of 6.1 (95% CI: 1.6-10.9), followed by a decline in 2021 and 2022. Bacteremia was stable during the study period. Conclusions: This study shows that pneumococcal disease has a significant impact on the pediatric population and on the health care system. These findings highlight the importance of improving vaccination of newborns and monitoring the circulation of pneumococcal serotypes.