Scottish Paediatric Infection Group

We are a group of clinical researchers interested in the epidemiology and impact of infections in children in Scotland.

Members 

• Dr. Olivia Swann, Clinical Lecturer in Infectious Diseases & Paediatric Infectious Disease Registrar
• Dr. Thomas Williams, Wellcome Trust ECAT Clinical Lecturer & Paediatric Respiratory Registrar
• Dr. Ross Langley, Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician & Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
• Dr. Clare Macrae, Edinburgh University Teaching Fellow & General Practitioner
• Dr. Katherine Longbottom, Consultant Paediatrician

Published and ongoing projects

COVID-19 in Children in the UK

As part of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC), Olivia designed and led the analysis of clinical characteristics of children and young people admitted with COVID-19 in the first wave across 138 hospitals in the UK. The study identified risk factors for admission to intensive care and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). The study was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the analyses were used by The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) to inform school opening policy. Work is currently ongoing comparing the clinical characteristics of children hospitalised with COVID-19 between the first and second waves.

Publication: Olivia V Swann et al. Clinical characteristics of children and young people admitted to hospital with covid-19 in United Kingdom: prospective multicentre observational cohort study. British Medical Journal 2020 Aug 27. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3249. PubMed PMID: 32960186.

The indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children in Scotland

Working in collaboration with NHS Lothian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Grampian, Public Health Scotland and National Records of Scotland, this study examined the indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people. We found no evidence of significant indirect harm as a result of the pandemic, and published our results in Archives of Disease in Childhood. This paper won the 2021 University of Glasgow Harry Stewart Hutchinson Prize.

Publication: Thomas C Williams et al. Indirect effects of COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric healthcare use and severe disease: a retrospective national cohort study. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2021 Jan 15. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2020-321008. PubMed PMID: 33451994.

Quantifying the direct effects of COVID-19 on children in Scotland to inform decisions on immunisation

We have been mandated by the Scottish Government to work in partnership with Public Health Scotland to establish a comprehensive dataset of all COVID-19 positive admission in those aged eighteen and under in Scotland (link to the Public Benefit and Privacy Panel page is not yet live).

BronchStart

Working together with Pediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland (PERUKI), we have worked to set up a study looking at the timing and severity of a delayed Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) epidemic on infants and young children in the coming months

Publication: Thomas C Williams et al. Study Pre-school for "BronchStart - The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Timing, Age and Severity of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Emergency Presentations; a Multi-Centre Prospective Observational Cohort Study". medRxiv 2021 Apr 20. doi: 10.1101/2021.04.18.21255700

Long Covid in Children

We have worked to establish a pathway for the referral and investigation of children and young people with possible Long Covid, and are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to establish national standards for such a referral service. As part of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) Paediatric Covid-19 International Working Group, we have also been instrumental in developing the ISARIC COVID-19 Health and Wellbeing Follow Up Survey for Children which is an international tool designed for harmonisation and metanalysis of global studies.

The survey is already being adapted and in use by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded Children and Young People with Long Covid study (CLoCk) and will be rolled out across paediatric Long Covid clinics in the UK through work with The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).

Media and public engagement

Olivia on CNN discussing BMJ ISARIC paper - External web page (YouTube)

ScotSci Edinburgh Vaccines Q&A Session - External web page (YouTube)

Thistle Trust Q&A session of coronavirus and vaccines - External web page