Progression of disease and viral agents in infants hospitalıized for lower respiratory tract infections

INTRODUCTION: Acute viral respiratory tract infection is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants and young children in developed countries and is a major cause of death in developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify the viruses in children hospitalized for lower respiratory tract infections during winter period and to evaluate the relationship between the clinical features of the patients and the severity of the disease.
METHODS: The nasopharyngeal aspirates of 200 patients aged 0–24 months hospitalized with a diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection were analyzed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. We looked for associations between viral agent, duration of hospitalization and respiratory distress scale.
RESULTS: The viral factor was identified in 150 (75%) patients. Rhinovirus was the most frequent viral agent followed by respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus; (52.67%), (16.0%) and (8.67%) respectively. The average length of hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus ( p=0.001), adenovirus (p=0.009), influenza A virüs (p=0.007), and bocavirus (p=0.009) infections were significantly longer. Adenovirus (p=0.029), respiratory syncytial virus (p=0.001) and bocavirus (p= 0.009) were significantly associated with length of hospitalization. No significant correlation was identified between the viruses and respiratory distress scores (p>0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We conclude that in hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract infection, rhinovirus was the most frequently observed viral etiological agent. Longer length of hospitalization was needed in RSV, adenovirus and bocavirus in infants with lower respiratory tract infections. Infants with respiratory infections should be monitored due to the risk of developing severe complications during disease progression.