Clinical characteristics and prevalence of adenovirus with respiratory tract infections in children

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics prevalence of respiratory adenovirus infections in children, and to provide reference for diagnosis, monitoring and timely treatment. Methods A total of 775 clinical specimens were collected from Shanghai Children′s Medical Center during November 2016 to November 2017, and 84 cases of adenovirus infections were detected by FilmArray. Results Among 775 samples, 84 samples(10.8%) were adenovirus positive.The epidemic peak of adenovirus infection was winter, spring and summer, especially in winter(20.8%), and the highest detection rate was in January(32.2%). The age ranged from 6 months to 2 years(47.7%). The common clinical manifestations are fever(91.7%), cough(96.4%), wheezing(48.8%), and shortness of breath(14.2%). A total of 15 cases(17.9%) had underlying diseases, the most of them were congenital heart diseases(9 cases, 10.7%). A total of 53 cases(63.1%) were mixed infection, and 21 cases(25.0%) were complicated with human rhinovirus/enterovirus.There were 5 cases of upper respiratory tract infection, 3 cases of bronchitis and 76 cases of pneumonia, including 55 cases of mild pneumonia and 21 cases of severe pneumonia.The average length of hospital stay was 8.3 days.The length of hospital stay, cases of wheezing and severe cases in the mixed infection group were significantly higher than those in the single infection group(P<0.05). Hospitalization days, wheezing symptoms, extrapulmonary symptoms, basic diseases and mixed infections in severe group were significantly higher than those in mild group(P<0.05). Conclusion Adenovirus infection occurs in children aged 6 months to 2 years, with a high incidence in winter, spring and summer.The peak month is January.The main clinical manifestations are high fever, cough and wheezing.Children with underlying diseases, wheezing symptoms, extrapulmonary symptoms and mixed infections are more likely to develop severe diseases.FilmArray detection system can quickly and accurately detect pathogens, provide a good basis for early diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of clinicians. Key words: Adenovirus; Epidemiology; Clinical characteristics; Children; FilmArray detection