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 Sep 3;16(1):111.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-019-1208-7.

Viral respiratory tract infections in young children with cystic fibrosis: a prospective full-year seasonal study

Mathilde Eymery  1   2 , Florence Morfin  3   4   5 , Anne Doleans-Jordheim  6   7 , Marie Perceval  8 , Camille Ohlmann  8 , Catherine Mainguy  8 , Philippe Reix  8   9
Affiliations

Viral respiratory tract infections in young children with cystic fibrosis: a prospective full-year seasonal study

Mathilde Eymery et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Background: Viral respiratory tract infections are common during early childhood. How they impact cystic fibrosis lung disease history in young children is poorly known. The principal aim of our study was to determinate respiratory tract infections frequency in this cystic fibrosis young population. Secondary outcomes were nature of viral agents recovered and impact of such infections.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 25 children affected by cystic fibrosis and aged less than 2 years. Nasal samplings were taken systematically monthly or bimonthly with additional samples taken during respiratory tract infections episodes. Ten pathogens were tested by a combination of five duplex RT-PCRs or PCRs: influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), metapneumovirus (MPV), rhinovirus/enterovirus (RV/EV)), coronavirus (HKU1, NL63, 229E and OC43), parainfluenza virus (1-4), adenovirus and bocavirus (Respiratory Multi-Well System MWS r-gene®, BioMérieux, Marcy l'Étoile, France). Cycle thresholds (CTs) were reported for all positive samples and considered positive for values below 40. Quantitative variables were compared using a nonparametric statistical test (Wilcoxon signed rank for paired comparisons). Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was used to assess relationships between two variables. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS v9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) or GraphPad Prism V6.00 (GraphPad Software, La Jolla, CA, USA). The significance level was set at 0.05.

Results: The mean age at inclusion was 9.6 ± 6.7 months. The patients had 3.4 ± 1.7 respiratory tract infections episodes per child per year. Forty-four respiratory tract infections (69%) were associated with virus: rhinovirus and enterovirus (RV/EV) were implied in 61% of them and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 14%. Only one patient required hospitalization for lower respiratory tract infections. 86% of the patients were treated by antibiotics for a mean of 13.8 ± 6.2 days. RSV infections (n = 6) were usually of mild severity.

Conclusions: Respiratory tract infections in young children with cystic fibrosis were of mild severity, rarely requiring hospitalization. Unsurprisingly, RV/EV were the most frequent agents. RSV-related morbidity seems low in this population. This raises the question of the usefulness of RSV preventive medication in this young population.

Keywords: Children; Cystic fibrosis; Respiratory virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Correlation between age at inclusion and total respiratory tract infection (RTI) episodes; b Correlation between age at inclusion and virus-positive respiratory tract infection (RTI) episodes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flow chart of virus sample results
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Asner S, Waters V, Solomon M, et al. Role of respiratory viruses in pulmonary exacerbations in children with cystic fibrosis. J Cyst Fibros. 2012;11(5):433–439. doi: 10.1016/j.jcf.2012.04.006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burns JL, Emerson J, Kuypers J, et al. Respiratory viruses in children with cystic fibrosis: viral detection and clinical findings. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2012;6(3):218–223. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00292.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cousin M, Molinari N, Foulongne V, et al. Rhinovirus-associated pulmonary exacerbations show a lack of FEV1 improvement in children with cystic fibrosis. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2016;10(2):109–112. doi: 10.1111/irv.12353. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dijkema JS, van Ewijk BE, Wilbrink B, et al. Frequency and duration of rhinovirus infections in children with cystic fibrosis and healthy controls: a longitudinal cohort study. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2016;35(4):379–383. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000001014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kieninger E, Singer F, Tapparel C, et al. High rhinovirus burden in lower airways of children with cystic fibrosis. Chest. 2013;143(3):782–790. doi: 10.1378/chest.12-0954. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types