Impact of Social Distancing on Intussusception Incidence in Children

Following nonpharmaceutical intervention (NPI) to mitigate coronavirus disease 2019 has led to drastic reduction in incidence of communicable disease. Intussusception is commonly preceded by infectious pathogens. Indirect effect from NPI implementation on incidence of intussusception has not been understood fully. We conducted a cohort study to estimate the impact of NPI on incidence of intussusception in Korean children. The net risk ratio of intussusception incidence for 2020 compared to 2010-2019 was 0.53 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43-0.64) for boys and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.44-0.71) for girls (P for difference = 0.017). Our study showed an association between NPI implementation and reduction of intussusception incidence, with more profound reduction in boys compared to girls.