Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Young Children Hospitalized with Respiratory Illness in Riyadh

Abstract

The occurrence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection among young children hospitalized with lower respiratory tract illness, at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, was examined during the autumn-winter season between September 1991 and February 1992. Sixty-nine cases were diagnosed by immunofluorescent antibody staining of viral antigen in nasopharyngeal aspirates from 127 children, constituting 54 per cent of these patients. Virus culture was attempted only in a few cases, yielding two isolates. Most children were < 1 year of age (median 2 months). Bronchiolitis and bronchopneumonia were the major diagnoses on admission. Hospitalization was for an average of 5 days (range 1-36 days). Treatment was supportive but most children received antibiotic therapy. There was no mortality. Few other bacterial or viral pathogens could be identified from RSV-positive or -negative patients. These results indicate that, during the season of infection, RSV may be the main pathogen of lower respiratory tract illness in hospitalized young children in this region.

Acute lower respiratory tract infections in children in the developing world: Kuwait experience

“…A similar pattern has been observed in Saudi Arabia 7 • In this study we found that fever >39°C, toxic ill look, bronchial breathing, WCC > 20xl0 19 /L, neutrophils >5xl0 9 /L, platelet count > 500xl0 9 /L, ESR >45mm/hour, lobar consolidation and pleural effusions were significantly (p>0.005) more frequent in children with bacterial infections. The overall mortality was low (0.25%) probably because in this study the children involved were all nourished, had received immunizations, none had underlying diseases, and had easy accessibility to health care facilities in Kuwait.…”

Respiratory syncytial virus subgroup A in hospitalized children in Zarqa, Jordan

“…17 Our data demonstrate that there was seasonal activity associated with RSV subgroup A which was isolated throughout the study period during the coldest months of the year. In successive years, the incidence tended to alternate between an early peak and a late peak.…”

Acute Respiratory Tract Infections: Epidemiological Data, Guided Case Management and Outcome in a Pediatric Hospital in Riyadh

“…Pneumonia accounted for 4336 patients (73.3% of ALRTI admissions) ( Table 2), which is lower than the 86.5% reported in a Bangladesh study. 24 Bronchiolitis accounted for 1581 patients (26.7% of ALRTI admissions), which is lower than the 35% and 54% reported earlier in South India 25 and Riyadh, 26 respectively. Better immunization, nutrition, socioeconomic and educational status at present could explain the lower incidence of both pneumonia and bronchiolitis in our study, compared to eight years ago when these two studies were performed (from 1985 to 1987).…”

“…The higher male to female ratio (1.4:1) in this study has been reported in other studies. 18,[24][25][26] Although bronchiolitis and pneumonia have been shown in this study to be present throughout the year, there is a clear correlation with the rainy season starting in our area in October through March, with a peak in January (Table 3). This is consistent with earlier studies from other tropical and Western countries.…”