Laboratory epidemiology of respiratory viruses in a large children's hospital: A STROBE-compliant article

Ye, Sheng; Wang, Tianlin

Acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) is the most common causes of outpatient visit and hospital admission for children. [1] The severity of the ARTI varies substantially depending on the site of infection, the type of viruses, involved organs and comorbidities. [2] For example, viral pneumonia can be life threatening due to uncontrolled systematic inflammatory response, leading to septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiple organ failure. [3] [4] [5] These later conditions require intensive care unit admission, and are associated with significantly increased risk of death, high medical cost and family distress. [4] It was estimated that there were approximately 1.9 million children died annually from ARTI, and most of them were from developing countries. [6] The type of respiratory viruses is very important for the understanding of the underlying pathogenesis of respiratory infections in children. A recent epidemiological study involving 17 centers and 8 countries showed that rhinovirus/enterovirus (41.5%) is the most prevalent viruses causing children's respiratory infection, followed by influenza (15.8%), adenovirus (9.8%), parainfluenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (both 9.7%). [7] China is a country with the largest population in the world. With the implementation of 2-child policy, the children's hospitals in China are facing great challenge to treat increasing number of children. ARTI is the most common reason for outpatient visit and hospital admission in China, [8] imposing a great challenge for clinicians. Throat swab and sputum samples are usually ordered for children with suspected ARTI and the number is very large. [9, 10] However, there is no study reporting epidemiological data on test results of respiratory viruses. The study aimed to report epidemiological data on respiratory viruses in a university-affiliated children's hospital. Furthermore, we investigated distributions of different types of respiratory viruses with seasonal changes. Risk factors for positive results for adenovirus, influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were also investigated.