Aim: To assess the role of human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) as a causative agent of nonsevere community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children.

BackgroundThe comparison of the frequencies of bacterial and viral infections among children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) admitted in distinct severity categories, in an original study, is lacking in literature to-date. We aimed to achieve this goal.MethodsChildren aged 2-59-months-old hospitalized with CAP were included in this prospective study in Salvador, Brazil. Clinical data and biological samples were collected to investigate 11 viruses and 8 bacteria. Severity was assessed by using the World Health Organization criteria.ResultsOne hundred eighty-one patients were classified as “non-severe” (n = 53; 29.3 %), “severe” (n = 111; 61.3 %), or “very severe” (n = 17; 9.4 %) CAP. Overall, aetiology was detected among 156 (86.2 %) cases; viral (n = 84; 46.4 %), bacterial (n = 26; 14.4 %) and viral-bacterial (n = 46; 25.4 %) infections were identified. Viral infection frequency was similar in severe/very severe and non-severe cases (46.1 % vs. 47.2 %; p = 0.9). Pneumococcal infection increased across “non-severe” (13.2 %), “severe” (23.4 %), and “very severe” (35.3 %) cases (qui-squared test for trend p = 0.04). Among patients with detected aetiology, after excluding cases with co-infection, the frequency of sole bacterial infection was different (p = 0.04) among the categories; non-severe (12.5 %), severe (29.3 %) or very severe (55.6 %). Among these patients, sole bacterial infection was independently associated with severity (OR = 4.4 [95 % CI:1.1–17.6]; p = 0.04) in a model controlled for age (OR = 0.7 [95 % CI:0.5–1.1]; p = 0.1).ConclusionsA substantial proportion of cases in distinct severity subgroups had respiratory viral infections, which did not differ between severity categories. Bacterial infection, particularly pneumococcal infection, was more likely among severe/very severe cases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-016-0645-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Respiratory viruses were detected in over 90% of the cases, out of which 70% had multiple viruses. Several viruses are more commonly found in multiple virus detection whereas other viruses are similarly found in sole and in multiple virus detection.

Aim: To assess whether there was a difference in the frequency of symptoms and signs among children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with viral or bacterial infection. Methods:A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Salvador, Brazil.Children less than 5-years-old hospitalized with CAP were recruited. Viral or only bacterial infection was diagnosed by an investigation of 11 viruses and 8 bacteria. Bacterial infection was diagnosed by blood culture, detection of pneumococcal DNA in acute buffy coat, and serological tests. Viral infection was diagnosed by detection of respiratory virus in nasopharyngeal aspirate and serological tests. Viral infection comprised only viral or mixed viral-bacterial infection subgroups.Results: One hundred and eighty-eight patients had a probable etiology established as only viral (51.6%), mixed viral-bacterial (30.9%), and only bacterial infection (17.5%). Asthma was registered for 21.4%. Report of wheezing (47.4% vs 21.2%; P = 0.006), rhonchi (38.0% vs 15.2%; P = 0.01), and wheezing detected on physical examination (51.0% vs 9.1%; P < 0.001) were the differences found. Among children with asthma, detected wheezing was the only different finding when children with viral infection were compared with those with only bacterial infection (75.0% vs 0%; P = 0.008). By multivariable analysis, viral infection (AdjOR [95% CI]: 9.6; 95%CI: 2.7-34.0), asthma (AdjOR [95% CI]: 4.6; 95%CI: 1.9-11.0), and age (AdjOR [95% CI]: 0.95; 95%CI: 0.92-0.97) were independently associated with wheezing on physical examination. The positive predictive value of detected wheezing for viral infection was 96.3% (95% CI: 90.4-99.1%). Conclusion:Wheezing detected on physical examination is an independent predictor of viral infection.