Association of specific viral infections with childhood asthma exacerbations

Hassanzad, Maryam; Nadji, Seyed Alireza; Darougar, Sepideh; Tashayoie-Nejad, Sabereh; Boloursaz, Mohammad Reza; Mahdaviani, Seyed Alireza; Baghaie, Nooshin; Ghaffaripour, Hosseinali; Velayati, Ali Akbar

Of the 60 samples collected from the patients with acute asthma exacerbations, rhinovirus was detected in 12 patients (20%), RSV in 5 (8%), adenovirus in 5 (8%), and influenza virus in 1 (1.6%). Figure 1 demonstrates the frequency of detected viruses during asthma exacerbations. All the samples that are investigated showed single viral infection. A total of 37 (61%) samples did not have any respiratory pathogens. The patients were also evaluated in three distinct groups according to their age. Three (5%) of the patients studied were under 1 year of age, 20 (33.3%) were between 1 and 5 years of age, and 37 (61.7%) were older than 5 years of age. The majority of the patients with documented viral infections in this study were between 1 and 5 years of age. Rhinovirus was the most common vial agent detected in all three age groups followed by both RSV and adenovirus. In children between 1 and 5 years of age, RSV (five patients) followed by rhinovirus (four patients) were the most common respiratory pathogens detected.