Etiology, Seasonality, and Clinical Features of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Children Hospitalized With Acute Bronchiolitis: A Single-Center Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viral frequency, seasonality, and clinical and demographic features of patients hospitalized with acute bronchiolitis. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed in 316 infants younger than 2 years of age who were hospitalized for acute viral bronchiolitis. Respiratory tract infection agents were investigated with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 316 infants were included in this study. Of the 316 infants, at least one respiratory tract pathogen was detected in 75% (237/316). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was the most common virus identified in 127 infants (40.1%) followed by rhinovirus (n = 78, 24.6%). In this study, where viral agents were determined via PCR in patients who were followed-up due to the diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis, RSV was detected as the most common agent, as in other studies. In almost half of the RSV-positive patients, RSV was accompanied by a second or third agent.

The prevalence of human bocavirus in <2-year-old children with acute bronchiolitis

“…In addition to the above-mentioned viruses, HBoV has also been reported as a cause of bronchiolitis; however, this association is still controversial. In fact, some studies have described a considerably wide range of HBoV infection in patients with bronchiolitis [ 36 , 37 ].…”

“…Although HBoV infection is diagnosed throughout the year, but it peaks during winter and spring [ 38 ]. Nevertheless, the seasonal occurrence of HBoV is still a subject of debate, and there are increasing evidences suggesting the higher frequencies of the viral infection in the cold months of the year, especially in January and February [ 36 ]. So, sampling time can also be a factor contributing to the heterogeneity among the studies.…”

Evaluation of epidemiological and clinical features of respiratory viruses among hospitalized children

“…At presentation, 125 (29.6%) patients had tachypnea. The symptoms of the hospitalized children were cough (n=369, 87.4%), fever (n=240, 56.9%), wheezing (n=152, 36%), nasal discharge (n=97, 22.9%), expectoration (n=69, 16.4%), cyanosis (n=18, 4.2%), and stridor (n=10, 2.3%). In physical examinations, 206 patients (48.8%) had focal or diffuse crackles, and 208 (49.2%) had prolonged expirium.…”

Systematic review on respiratory syncytial virus epidemiology in adults and the elderly in Latin America

“…Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) was first identified in chimpanzees in 1955 and, shortly after, recognized as a cause of viral bronchiolitis in human infants (Hall 2001;Falsey et al, 2005;Schweitzer and Justice 2018). Since then, RSV has been widely acknowledged as a major pathogen in newborn infants and young children (Moore et al, 2014;Piedimonte and Perez 2014;Gökçe et al, 2017), being associated with severe forms of disease.…”