Hospital-Acquired Viral Respiratory Illness on a Pediatric Ward

Abstract

All 171 patients admitted to four study rooms containing cribs were under surveillance during the winter and spring for development of nosocomial respiratory viral infection. One sixth of the 90 children at risk acquired respiratory illness while in the hospital. Viruses were isolated from two thirds of the patients with nosocomial infections: rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza, and influenza A and B. Serial viral cultures of the children under surveillance suggested that nine of 11 virus-positive nosocomial infections were not acquired from a roommate. Furthermore, the risk to a patient of becoming infected with a virus being shed by a roommate was only 3%. The need for isolation of all children with a respiratory illness in a single room with a separate air exhaust system is not suggested by these data.

Burden of Healthcare-Associated Viral Respiratory Infections in Children’s Hospitals

“…HA-VRIs represented 10% of HAIs in pediatric wards in a recent point-prevalence survey [8], whereas in another study, close to 20% of infants and toddlers admitted to a tertiary-care pediatric hospital had a virus detected in their nasopharyngeal specimen [10]. Although the overall burdens of HA-VRI and outbreaks of specific viruses were reported previously [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], benchmarks for comparison are not readily available. Our objective was to determine, compare, and assess determinants of unit-specific HA-VRI incidence rates in 2 children's hospitals.…”

Contrasting definitions and incidence of healthcare-associated respiratory viral infections in a pediatric hospital

“…HARVI outbreaks and their consequences have been reported in pediatric hospitals for decades, 3,4 but only recently have many institutions began to track and measure the incidence of HARVI continuously. The recognized incidence is likely changing over time as infection prevention strategies and their implementation have improved, 5,6 new viruses have been identified, 7,8 and rapid and more accurate viral diagnostic testing with nucleic acid amplification tests has become widely available.…”