Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team May 25, 2025 3 weeks, 3 days, 13 hours, 20 minutes ago
Medical News: Doctors in Greece are sounding the alarm over a disturbing new trend seen in children recovering from the COVID-19 era—more kids are ending up in hospitals with serious ear and sinus infections that can spread dangerously close to the brain.
Sharp Rise in Dangerous Ear and Sinus Infections in Children After COVID-19
Researchers from the 2nd Department of Pediatrics at “Aghia Sofia” Children’s Hospital and the Division of Infectious Diseases at the 1st Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, conducted a large-scale study examining medical records of children hospitalized for mastoiditis (a severe middle ear infection) and orbital cellulitis (a serious sinus infection around the eyes). They tracked these cases from 2018 through 2023, spanning the years before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this
Medical News report, the most striking discovery was the explosion in the number of cases after the pandemic ended. The number of children admitted to the hospital with mastoiditis more than doubled, jumping from 5.5 cases per 1000 admissions before the pandemic to 13.6 after it. For orbital cellulitis, the increase was even steeper, rising from 4.8 to 21.8 cases per 1000 admissions.
What Is Causing This Sudden Surge
Doctors believe the rise is likely due to what experts now call “immunity debt.” Because children were isolated during lockdowns—away from schools, playgrounds, and daycare—they weren’t exposed to everyday bacteria and viruses that help train their immune systems. When restrictions lifted, these infections came back with a vengeance. Alongside this, changes in the normal bacteria living in the nose and throat may have made infections more severe and harder to treat.
Although the number of infections rose sharply, the rate of dangerous complications such as brain abscesses and thrombosis (blood clots in brain veins) remained stable or even declined in some cases. Notably, children with orbital cellulitis were less likely to develop brain infections after the pandemic compared to before (a drop from 30% to 10.1%).
Insights Into the Pathogens and Clinical Care
The study, which involved 176 children aged 0 to 16, found that bacteria like Streptococcus and Staphylococcus continued to be the most common culprits. After the pandemic, researchers also noted a rise in polymicrobial infections—cases where more than one type of bacteria, including anaerobic and gram-negative species, were present.
In terms of care, most mastoiditis cases required surgical intervention, but the rate remained steady across all time periods. Orbital cellulitis, on the other hand, saw a reduction in surgeries after the pandemic. Importantly, neither infection led to longer hospital stays or worse outcomes overall.
Another key finding was that while more pus samples from mastoiditis patients tested positive for bacteria post-pandemic (46.5% vs. 21.
7% before), the rate of positive cultures for orbital cellulitis actually declined. Researchers suspect this might be due to antibiotics being started before samples were collected or limitations in laboratory testing methods.
Warnings and Future Concerns
The researchers caution that the rising infection rates should not be ignored. They highlight the need for enhanced monitoring and a deeper understanding of how COVID-19 has reshaped children’s vulnerability to bacterial diseases. There is also concern that new, more aggressive strains of bacteria could be emerging due to shifts in immune system training and microbial landscapes.
Doctors are encouraged to be on high alert for early signs of these infections—especially in children with fever, ear pain, or swollen areas around the eyes. Early treatment remains the key to preventing life-threatening complications.
In conclusion, the findings reveal a significant and concerning increase in pediatric cases of mastoiditis and orbital cellulitis in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. While complication rates and treatments have remained largely consistent, the sudden rise in infections signals the broader, indirect impact of the pandemic on child health. It also raises urgent questions about how a generation of children with altered immune exposures may continue to be affected in the years to come. Ongoing research, preventive strategies, and renewed clinical awareness will be critical to address these post-pandemic consequences effectively.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: European Journal of Pediatrics
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-025-06188-4
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