Low Frequency of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections During Family-Centered Neonatal Intensive Care: Results of a Prospective Surveillance Study

Background: Viral respiratory tract infections (VRTI) may cause severe respiratory and sepsis-like symptoms in infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Little is known about the frequencies of VRTI in relation to visiting policies in the NICU. Objective: Aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of symptomatic and asymptomatic VRTI in our family-centered NICU. Methods: This was a 12-month, prospective, observational study from February 2018 to January 2019. Infants hospitalized ≥72 h were eligible for the study. To determine the frequency of VRTI, multiplexed point-of-care testing (mPOCT) of symptomatic infants was combined with a weekly screening of all infant…