Introduction:

Acute respiratory infections are an important health problem globally and in the Cuban context.

Objective:

Study the effect of preventive measures related to COVID-19 in the frequency of hospital discharges by acute respiratory infection.

Method:

Descriptive study carried out in the service of respiratory conditions of ´´Paquito González Cueto´´ Pediatric University Hospital in Cienfuegos province, during the years 2019-2020. Morbidity by acute respiratory infections was expressed through the frequency of hospital discharges. It was studied the number of discharges by this infection in the six first months of the above mentioned years. The information was collected in the Statistics Department of the Hospital.

Results:

It was observed a marked drop in the number of discharges after acute respiratory infections in the months of April, May and June of 2020 ( in June, there was 75% less that the discharges occurred in January), which contrasts with what happened in this period of the previous year, with a discreet numerical variation in the number of discharges. These results are independent from the age and sex.

Conclusions:

The population measures taken to prevent and control COVID-19 that were implemented in Cuba after the first cases of the disease were diagnosed seem to have influenced in the decrease of morbidity by acute respiratory infections in the service of respiratory conditions of the Pediatric University Hospital of Cienfuegos province.

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