HRV is an important and frequent pathogen associated with severe respiratory infections in VLBW infants. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia and the absence of breastfeeding are risk factors for hospitalization. The results of our study reveal that HRV is the predominant pathogen of respiratory infections in premature infants.
We conducted a prospective, observational study to characterize the clinical manifestations of respiratory infections caused by human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and other viruses in 194 premature infants and young children with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease in Buenos Aires. Children had 567 episodes of respiratory illness and were monitored until they were 2 years old or until the completion of the study. hMPV elicited 12 infections (2%) year-round; 30% were of moderate or greater severity. Human parainfluenza virus type 3 caused 24 infections (4%), and 5 (25%) of 20 lung infections led to hospitalization. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) caused 33 episodes--17% of infections and 32% of hospitalizations during the respiratory season. None of the 10 children infected with influenza virus had severe disease. The present study of at-risk children suggests that hMPV and influenza virus are infrequent agents of severe disease and highlights the need for preventive interventions against RSV in developing countries.
OBJECTIVE-The protective role of breastfeeding against severe acute lung disease in infants is well established, but its mechanism is unclear. Most hypotheses assume that breastfeeding confers similar passive protection to every infant; however, a few observations have suggested that the benefits of breast milk against severe lung disease may differ according to gender. The objective of this study was to determine whether the effect of breastfeeding on susceptibility to severe acute lung disease among infants at high risk is different for girls and boys.METHODS-A cohort was analyzed prospectively by use of 2 different strategies: (1) predictors of first episode of rehospitalization by univariate and multivariate analyses using robust Poisson regression and (2) mean number of rehospitalizations between groups using multiple regression negative binomial models.RESULTS-A total of 119 high-risk, very low birth weight infants were enrolled. Breast milk protected girls but not boys against severe acute lung disease. The interaction between breastfeeding and gender was clinically and statistically significant, even after adjustment for variables that can Address correspondence to Fernando P. Polack, MD, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, E5202, Baltimore, MD 21205. E-mail: fpolack@jhsph.edu PEDIATRICS (ISSN Numbers: Print, 0031-4005; Online, 1098-4275). Drs Klein and Bergel contributed equally to this work.The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. What's Known on This SubjectThe protective role of breastfeeding against severe acute lung disease in infants is well established, but its mechanism is unclear. Most hypotheses assume that breastfeeding confers similar passive protection to every infant. What This Study AddsThis study reveals an unexpected gender-related difference in the protective effects of breast milk; suggests that severity of respiratory diseases in infancy may be amenable to modulation by a nonspecific mechanism; challenges the established dogma that the protective effect of breast milk is exerted by passive transfer of IgA; and contributes to redefine the populations of premature infants at highest risk for severe lung disease, in this case nonbreastfeeding girls. The protective role of breastfeeding against severe respiratory infections in healthy term infants is well established. 8,9 In VLBW infants, a similar beneficial effect has been described. 10 For all of these populations, the mechanism of breast milk-mediated protection is unclear. A widely accepted hypothesis attributes the effect of breast milk to neutralization of infectious agents by passively transferred secretory immunoglobulin A in the respiratory tract of exposed infants. 9,11-13 Alternative theories attribute protection to the passive transfer of other molecules with anti-infective activity. 14-16 All of these hypotheses assume that breastfeeding confers similar passive protection to each and every infant; however, a few observations in recent years suggested...
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