Clinical immunology Recurrent respiratory tract infections in children – analysis of immunological examinations

Abstract

BackgroundPaediatric respiratory tract infections are among the most common reasons for preschool and school absences and visits to physicians. The disease mainly involves the upper respiratory tract and is associated with fever, cough, sore throat, and running nose. Children with recurrent respiratory infections (RRI), which are defined as more than six serious diseases a year, are a difficult diagnostic challenge. The aim of this study was to assess immunological deviations in laboratory tests performed in children with RRI.Material and methodsIn the retrospective study 25 children suffering from recurrent respiratory tract infection, aged 4.1 ±2.3 years, 13 boys and 12 girls, were involved. For all children chemiluminescence of granulocytes and immunophenotyping of lymphocytes from peripheral blood were examined. An immunophenotype of peripheral blood lymphocytes involved evaluation of T cell, B cells, and NK cells, examined with flow cytometry.ResultsEleven of the studied children had decreased chemiluminescent response to stimulants, normal response was found for nine children, and five children had an increased result of the test. Five of the 25 children had decreased B cells number, and five had decreased number of T cells including decrease of CD4, as well as CD8 positive cells. Children with decreased chemiluminescence had more frequent neutropaenia than children with normal or increased chemiluminescent response, p < 0.05 (exact Fisher test).ConclusionsRecurrent respiratory tract infection could be associated with improper neutrophils response to pathogens, and immunological examination should be performed to find the reason for the increased number of infections in a year.

Low Serum Levels of Vitamins A, D, and E Are Associated with Recurrent Respiratory Tract Infections in Children Living in Northern China: A Case Control Study

“…Recurrent RTIs (RRTIs) often prolong the recovery period, increase the required health care, and cause more frequent complications, such as autoimmune disorders and septicemia [2]. Previous studies showed that the incidence of RRTIs among children in northern China ranged from 17.8% to 18.7% in 2011 [3].…”

Adjuvant Treatment with Yupingfeng Formula for Recurrent Respiratory Tract Infections in Children: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…A well‐designed review concluded that YPFF improved the immune function through acting on immune organs, non‐specific immunity and specific immunity (Zhou et al, ).Together these findings implied anti‐infective effects of YPFF may be correlated to its immunomodulating effect. However, there is no consensus on the immunoglobulin levels or T‐lymphocytes count and recurrence or improvement of symptoms in children with RRTIs (Esposito and Musio, ; Raniszewska et al, ).…”

“…Children with primary immunodeficiency often present a higher susceptibility to RRTIs. However, most of children diagnosed with RRTIs did not exhibit an immunodeficiency, and only a small part of patients showed mild decrease in serum levels of IgA or IgG and ratio of CD4 + /CD8 + (Finocchi et al, ; Han et al, ; Kendirli et al, ; Qu and Dong, ; Raniszewska et al, ). RRTIs are usually treated with immunomodulating agents (Chen and Zhao, ).…”

Diagnostic Workup and Micronutrient Deficiencies in Children With Failure to Thrive Without Underlying Diseases

“…Recurrent respiratory infections are defined as >6 respiratory infections in 1 year . Patients with an HAZ below ‐2 were referred to the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic for GH deficiency.…”