Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Aug 9;52(2):1800207.
doi: 10.1183/13993003.00207-2018. Print 2018 Aug.

Rhinovirus is the most common virus and rhinovirus-C is the most common species in paediatric intensive care respiratory admissions

Desmond W Cox  1   2 , Siew-Kim Khoo  2   3 , Guicheng Zhang  2   4 , Katie Lindsay  5 , Anthony D Keil  5 , Geoff Knight  6 , James E Gern  7 , Ingrid A Laing  2   3 , Joelene Bizzintino  2   3 , Peter N Le Souëf  2
Affiliations

Rhinovirus is the most common virus and rhinovirus-C is the most common species in paediatric intensive care respiratory admissions

Desmond W Cox et al. Eur Respir J. .

Abstract

Respiratory virus infections account for a significant proportion of acute admissions to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Recent studies have shown that rhinoviruses (RV) are the most frequent virus detected in severe cases of acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) admitted to a PICU. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of different viruses, in particular RV species, in children with ARI admitted to a tertiary PICU. Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) from 229 children admitted to PICU with an ARI were analysed. RV was the most common virus detected, being present in 94 (41.0%) of samples examined, followed by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which was identified in 50 (21.8%) samples. A subsection analysis of cases with residual sample available of sufficient quality to allow for RV species typing showed that overall, the percentage of PICU admissions for each RV species was 22.3% for RV-C, 17.5% for RV-A and 1.7% for RV-B. This study demonstrated that RV is the most frequent virus identified in children admitted to a tertiary PICU with an ARI and RV-C is the most common RV species detected. Importantly, in the children admitted to PICU with an ARI, RV-C was by itself as common a pathogen as RSV.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: P.N. Le Souëf reports grants from National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (programme grant number APP458513, project grant number APP1031635), during the conduct of the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Purcell K and Fergie J, Driscoll Children’s Hospital respiratory syncytial virus database: risk factors, treatment and hospital course in 3308 infants and young children, 1991 to 2002. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2004. 23(5): p. 418–23. - PubMed
    1. Straliotto SM, et al., Respiratory viruses in the pediatric intensive care unit: prevalence and clinical aspects. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 2004. 99(8): p. 883–7. - PubMed
    1. Louie JK, et al., Rhinovirus associated with severe lower respiratory tract infections in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2009. 28(4): p. 337–9. - PubMed
    1. Aramburo A, et al., Role of real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for detection of respiratory viruses in critically ill children with respiratory disease: Is it time for a change in algorithm? Pediatr Crit Care Med, 2011. 12(4): p. e160–5. - PubMed
    1. Lonngren C, et al., North-South divide: distribution and outcome of respiratory viral infections in paediatric intensive care units in Cape Town (South Africa) and Nottingham (United Kingdom). J Paediatr Child Health, 2014. 50(3): p. 208–15. - PubMed

Publication types

Supplementary concepts

LinkOut - more resources