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
. 2019 Jun 3;14(6):e0217744.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217744. eCollection 2019.

Human coronavirus alone or in co-infection with rhinovirus C is a risk factor for severe respiratory disease and admission to the pediatric intensive care unit: A one-year study in Southeast Brazil

Alessandra K Matsuno  1 , Talita B Gagliardi  2 , Flavia E Paula  2 , Luciano K S Luna  2 , Bruna L S Jesus  2 , Renato T Stein  3 , Davi C Aragon  1 , Ana P C P Carlotti  1 , Eurico Arruda  2
Affiliations

Human coronavirus alone or in co-infection with rhinovirus C is a risk factor for severe respiratory disease and admission to the pediatric intensive care unit: A one-year study in Southeast Brazil

Alessandra K Matsuno et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to assess the profile of respiratory viruses in young children hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) and its association with disease severity, defined as need for pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission.

Design: Prospective observational cohort study.

Setting: A tertiary-care university hospital in Brazil.

Patients: Children younger than three years attending the pediatric emergency room with ALRI who were admitted to the hospital.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from patients from June 1st, 2008 to May 31st, 2009within the first 48 hours of hospitalization. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were tested for 17humanrespiratory viruses by molecular and immunofluorescence based assays. Simple and multiple log-binomial regression models were constructed to assess associations of virus type with a need for PICU admission. Age, prematurity, the presence of an underlying disease and congenital heart disease were covariates. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were positive for at least one virus in 236 patients. Rhinoviruses were detected in 85.6% of samples, with a preponderance of rhinovirus C (RV-C) (61.9%). Respiratory syncytial virus was detected in 59.8% and human coronavirus (HCoV) in 11% of the samples. Co-detections of two to five viruses were found in 78% of the patients. The detection of HCoV alone (adjusted relative risk (RR) 2.18; 95% CI 1.15-4.15) or in co-infection with RV-C (adjusted RR 2.37; 95% CI 1.23-4.58) was independently associated with PICU admission.

Conclusions: The detection of HCoV alone or in co-infection with RV-C was independently associated with PICU admission in young children hospitalized for ALRI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AKM and EAN were supported by an academic grant from Abbott Laboratórios do Brasil Ltda, based on an unrestricted investigator-generated proposal. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in the guide for authors: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/competing-interests).

References

    1. Global Healthy Observatory Data Repository: World Acute Respiratory Infections. 2016 [accessed on 05 Dec 2017]. In: World Health Organization [internet]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.CM1002015WORLD-CH9?lang=en.
    1. Rakes GP, Arruda E, Ingram JM, Hoover GE, Zambrano JC, Hayden FG et al.: Rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in wheezing children requiring emergency care. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999;159:785–790 10.1164/ajrccm.159.3.9801052 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sonego M, Pellegrin MC, Becker G, Lazzerini M: Risk factors for mortality from acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in children under five years of age in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. PLoS ONE. 2015; 10:e0116380 10.1371/journal.pone.0116380 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arruda E, Jones MH, Escremim de Paula F,Chong D, Bugarin G, Notario G et al.: The burden of single virus and viral coinfections on severe lower respiratory tract infections among preterm infants: a prospective birth cohort study in Brazil. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2014;33:997–1003. 10.1097/INF.0000000000000349 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Walsh EE, Breese-Hall C. Respiratory syncytial virus In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ, editors. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 8th Ed Philadelphia, MS: Elsevier Saunders; 2015. pp. 1948–1960.

Publication types

Supplementary concepts