Detection of respiratory viral and bacterial pathogens causing pediatric community-acquired pneumonia in Beijing using real-time PCR

Zhang, Tie-Gang; Li, Ai-Hua; Lyu, Min; Chen, Meng; Huang, Fang; Wu, Jiang

To determine whether the etiological agent for CAP varied with age, we compared the prevalence of viral and bacterial pathogens in each age group. Table 4 shows the distribution of each pathogenic agent according to CAP patient age. In the pre-kindergarten group, the most common pathogens were respiratory syncytial virus (n ¼ 108, 44.6%), rhinovirus (n ¼ 31, 12.8%) and S. pneumoniae (n ¼ 24, 9.9%). In the kindergarten group, S. pneumoniae (n ¼ 14, 38.9%), respiratory syncytial virus (n ¼ 11, 30.6%), H. influenzae (n ¼ 7, 19.4%), and adenovirus (n ¼ 7, 19.4%) were the most common infections. Finally, in the school-age group, respiratory syncytial virus (n ¼ 44, 47.3%), S. pneumoniae (n ¼ 39, 41.9%), and rhinovirus (n ¼ 20, 21.5%) accounted for the greatest number of infections.