A multicenter retrospective study on severe complications of acute otitis media and sinusitis in healthy children in the context of covid pandemic - CAOS-kids.

Authors

Kornelia E Andorfer, Torstein Grønseth, Juned Zafar Butt, Randall A Bly, Jeremy S Ruthberg, Michael Habenbacher, Peter Valentin Tomazic, Fatemeh Kashani, Maria Teresa Arcuri, Bresciani Lorenzo, Marie Gisselsson-Solén, Isabella Sjölander, Sara Zenk, Valentinos Sofokleous, Ivan Delchev, Florian Zeman, Christopher Bohr, Kathrin Renner

Published in

Scientific reports. Volume 16. Issue 1. Aug 21, 2026. Epub Aug 21, 2026.

Abstract

Intracranial sinogenic and otogenic complications and high-grade orbital complications of sinusitis in children are rare, but case numbers appeared to increase after COVID-19 health measures were lifted. As similar trends were reported internationally, we conducted a multicenter retrospective case series to evaluate this "perceived accumulation". The study population included otherwise healthy children treated at eight participating centers from seven countries including a period from 2012 to 2023 for above-mentioned complications. Recorded parameters included age, diagnosis, timing, duration and type of inpatient therapy, as well as microbiological and virological findings, and differential blood count. A total of 289 data sets were received from the eight centers. Cases per semiannual increased significantly from 6 to 28 in the sinogenic and 3 to 12 in the otogenic cohort comparing pre- to post-pandemic period. Main patient characteristics were preserved. However, the number of surgical interventions per patient rose slightly in the post-pandemic sinogenic cohort. No association with acute COVID-19 infection was identified. In summary, intracranial sinogenic and otogenic complications in children rose significantly after the lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions. As immunity to respiratory viruses is not permanent, COVID-19 protective measures may have resulted in a lack of stimulation of the immune system, favoring the occurrence of superinfections. This highlights the importance of global respiratory infection research and surveillance programs, as well as open data sharing and maintaining vaccine development and use.

PMID:
42629375
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Aug 2026.

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