Characteristics of Viral Antigens and Microbial Spectrum of Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract in Infants With Bronchitis

Abstract

Introduction. The difficulty in diagnosing different clinical forms of bronchitis is due to the fact that their clinical manifestations have a number of similar symptoms, despite the fact that these diseases may be as-sociated with different forms according to the classification. Diagnosis can be often complicated by the pre-disposition of very young children to recurrent respiratory diseases, which often mark the formation of a pro-longed and recurrent course of the disease caused by viral and bacterial contamination of the respiratory tract. The aim of this study is to investigate viral and microbial contamination of the respiratory tract in vari-ous clinical forms of bronchitis of infants and to clarify their etiological significance in parallel with the as-sessment of the intestinal microflora. Materials and methods. 578 children aged from 6 months to 3 years with various clinical forms of bronchitis were monitored. Virological examination was performed by the direct Coons method, which detected viral antigens in the cells of the mucous membrane of the lower nasal si-nuses. Bacteriological examination was performed by bacterial inoculation of nasopharyngeal mucus, spu-tum and feces in a nutrient medium. Results. Clinical and laboratory examination of young infants made it possible to identify the influence of detected viral antigens and pathogenic microflora in the throat, sputum and feces on the formation of various clinical forms of bronchitis and their clinical peculiarities not only in the period of exacerbation, but also in a remission period that indicates the persistence of viruses and bacteria. Conclusion. Detection of viral antigens, dysbiosis and microbial aggression of the upper and lower respira-tory tract gives grounds for substantiating the indications for staged rehabilitation therapy for infants with various clinical forms of bronchitis.