Paediatric Virology and its interaction between basic science and clinical practice (Review)

Mammas, Ioannis N.; Greenough, Anne; Theodoridou, Maria; Kramvis, Anna; Rusan, Maria; Melidou, Angeliki; Korovessi, Paraskevi; Papaioannou, Georgia; Papatheodoropoulou, Alexia; Koutsaftiki, Chryssie; Liston, Maria; Sourvinos, George; Spandidos, Demetrios A.

infants. chronic respiratory morbidity is common in prematurely born infants and has a multifactorial aetiology (8) . Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) caused by RSV increase this morbidity. Although prematurely born infants are functionally (9,10) and genetically (11) predisposed to RSV LRTIs, their lung function in infancy is worse after the LRTI (12, 13) . RSV LRTIs have more long-term effects, as evidenced by very prematurely born infants, who have bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPd) and then subsequently suffer from an RSV LRTI hospitalisation; in the first 2 years after birth these infants need increased healthcare utilisation and have poorer pulmonary functions at school age (14) . There are limited data to suggest that rhinovirus (RV) may adversely affect on respiratory-related outcomes in prematurely born infants. In a previous study, in 8 prematurely born infants with BPd, the development of RV LRTIs was associated with a sustained worsening of their clinical status, requiring the addition of novel therapies for prolonged periods of time (15) . Furthermore, in another study, prematurely born infants, who had developed RV LRTI, during infancy, had higher healthcare utilisation costs, including greater numbers of hospital, outpatient and respiratory-related general practitioner (GP) attendances, than infants without a viral LRTI (16) .