Alarming circumstances – flu, corona, RSV: situation in Austrian clinics

The state of emergency in the Graz children’s clinic continues. 163 patients were treated at the outpatient clinic until 12 noon on Wednesday, 20 children are too many on the ward. A wave of infections with a combination of flu, RS viruses and corona is the cause of the overload. More about this here.

Stations “very, very busy”
An isolated case? Not at all, according to an APA broadcast in Austria. “At the stop” you drive in all hospitals of the Upper Austrian health holding company – in general. In addition, due to the coincidence of corona, flu and RS viruses, the children’s departments in all hospitals have entered Upper Austria “Very, very busy,” was the tenor. Peak times are in the evening to night and at weekends, a spokeswoman said when asked.

If there were normally 120 little patients coming in on a weekend day, there would be around 160 in the current “contagion” period. Of the 55 young patients currently being treated for RSV, 19 have been admitted. However, due to a lack of staff, no more than 55 children can be accommodated at the moment, while in reality there are 69 beds.

In the university hospital you work on the load or capacity limit Salzburgerland. “The children’s clinic is busy, but not overloaded,” Wolfgang Fürweger, spokesman for the Salzburg State Clinics (SALK), told the APA on Wednesday. The crowds to the ambulances are currently high due to the infections.

15 children with an RS virus infection are currently being treated on the regular ward. Two of them need respiratory support. In addition, two of the six beds in the pediatric intensive care unit are occupied by RSV.

Occupancy “sustained high”
The intramural use in the children’s ward in the Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy in Eisenstadt is “persistently high”. Especially on weekends, when there is no care in the established area, this leads to long waiting times at the outpatient clinic, according to when asked.

There may be longer waiting times at the children’s outpatient clinic. In some cases, the young patients are discharged earlier to make room for acute cases.

“Very busy” are the children’s wards in the Vienna hospitals. The high occupancy in the children’s wards is due to RS virus infections (RSV), against which there is no active vaccination according to the Vienna Health Association. In order to avoid an even greater burden on hospitals, it was important to avoid other infections as much as possible, it was emphasized – and therefore also referred to the respective vaccinations against flu and corona.

On Tuesday, a total of 66 people with an RSV infection were in the children’s wards of the WIGEV hospitals of Klinik Favoriten, Ottakring, Floridsdorf and Donaustadt. Seven other children were hospitalized for the flu, three with Covid and several with other infections and bronchitis and pneumonia respectively. In total there were 29 free beds. The individual numbers may change quickly in the respective departments, but the overall high-occupancy situation remains the same at the moment, it said.

But it was emphasized: “All children who need a hospital bed will of course get one.” The supply situation is “stable”.

“Ever closer to capacity”
The current wave of colds in children is also clearly noticeable in the wards of the Carinthian hospital operator Kabeg. “We are noticing a significant increase in patients with infectious diseases in the children’s wards of the Klagenfurt Clinic and the Villach State Hospital and are increasingly reaching the limits of capacity,” a spokeswoman for Kabeg said on Wednesday, but all children could be well cared for.

On both wards, an average of about 200 children are treated daily on an outpatient basis and about 20 have to be admitted intramurally. In Carinthia, there is currently a particularly high number of mixed infections with other viruses, such as flu or parainfluenza viruses. An increase in the number of RS infections can be observed every year at this time of year and there are always years with a particularly high number or very severe RS infections requiring hospital treatment.

The RSV wave is also in Lower Austria arrived, but with regional variations, the State Health Agency (LGA) said. There are more outpatient visits with infants and small children, many of whom are stable enough to avoid hospitalization. If that’s the case, however, the little patients would need to be cared for in intensive care. In most cases, the disease is mild.

“In general, the situation in the children’s wards of Lower Austria is challenging, but the offer is available,” said the LGA. The number of patients is high, but varies widely.

“Well stocked, but sufficient capacity”
The situation on the is more relaxed Innsbrucker children’s clinic. “A lot is happening. We are well supplied. But there is still enough capacity,” said Tirol Kliniken spokesperson Johannes Schwamberger. The number of sick small children, which is the result of an ‘accumulation’ of the various viral infections, is striking or illnesses.

It also happens that small children have to be hospitalized and sometimes even treated in intensive care, said the spokesman for the Tyrolean Clinics, which include the hospitals in Innsbruck, Hall in Tirol, Natters and Zirl. All in all, however, the occupancy rate in hospitals cannot be compared to the peaks of the corona waves of the past.

Of the Vorarlberger Hospital operating company was told that the number of admissions of children and adolescents related to RSV fluctuates widely. “The situation must therefore be reassessed time and time again,” said spokeswoman Andrea Marosi-Kuster. At the LKH Feldkirch, two children are currently being treated for an RSV infection in the intensive care unit. The youngest child to be treated is a three week old baby.