Clinical characteristics of acute viral lower respiratory tract infections in hospitalized children in Seoul, 1996-1998.
:This study was performed to investigate the etiologic agents, age distribution, clinical manifestations and seasonal occurrence of acute viral lower respiratory tract infections in children. We confirmed viral etiologies using nasopharyngeal aspirates in 237 patients of the ages of 15 years or younger who were hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) from March 1996 to February 1998 at Samsung Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Korea. The overall isolation rate was 22.1%. The viral pathogens identified were adenovirus (12.7%), influenza virus type A (21.1%), -type B (13.9%), parainfluenza virus type 1 (13.5%), -type 2 (1.3%), -type 3 (16.0%) and respiratory syncytial virus (21.5%). The occurrence of ALRIs was highest in the first year of life, although parainfluenza virus type 1 infection occurred predominantly in the second year of life and influenza virus caused illnesses in all age groups. The specific viruses are frequently associated with specific clinical syndromes of ALRI. The respiratory agents and associated syndromes frequently have characteristic seasonal patterns. This study will help us to estimate the etiologic agents of ALRI, and establish a program for the prevention and treatment. An annual nationwide survey is necessary to understand the viral epidemiology associated with respiratory illnesses in Korea.
Ahn KM
,Chung SH
,Chung EH
,Koh YJ
,Nam SY
,Kim JH
,Son JA
,Park JY
,Lee NY
,Lee SI
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《JOURNAL OF KOREAN MEDICAL SCIENCE》
Epidemiology of acute viral respiratory tract infections in Korean children.
Viruses are the most common causes of respiratory tract infection in children. We investigated the aetiologies and the epidemiological features of acute viral respiratory tract infections in Korean children.
We tried to isolate respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and parainfluenza virus from January 1994, influenza virus from February 1995, and adenovirus from April 1996 through August 1998, and identified the isolated viruses by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) staining in the children hospitalized with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI).
Virus was identified in 360 of 1389 (25.9%) nasopharyngeal aspirates cultured. Of a total of 392 viruses, 164 (41.8%) RSV, 90 (23%) parainfluenza virus, 66 (16.8%) influenza A virus, 54 (13.8%) adenovirus, and 18 (4.6%) influenza B virus were cultured, including cases in mixed viral infections. The male to female ratio of the culture-positive patients was 2:1, and the proportions of the patients aged >6 months, 6-11 months, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-7, 8-9, and >10 years were 22.5, 29.5, 25.7, 9.5, 3.8, 3.8, 1.7, 1.7, 1.2, and 0.6%, respectively. The major clinical diagnosis was bronchiolitis for RSV, croup for parainfluenza virus, and pneumonia for adenovirus and influenza virus. Infections by RSV, parainfluenza virus, and influenza virus occurred in annual epidemics, and infections by adenovirus occurred annually with or without epidemics. There were somewhat larger epidemics by adenovirus and influenza virus in May to July 1996 and March to June 1997, respectively.
Viral agents are one of the main aetiologies and the main causes of admission in Korean children with ARTI.
Kim MR
,Lee HR
,Lee GM
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