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Children with rhinovirus present differently than those with RSV
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Children with rhinovirus bronchiolitis present with different symptoms than children with respiratory syncytial virus, which also can result in treatment differences, according to recent research in The Journal of Pediatrics.
“Children with bronchiolitis often are considered a homogeneous group,” Jonathan M. Mansbach, MD, MPH, of the department of medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues wrote. “However, in a multicenter, prospective study of … young children hospitalized for bronchiolitis, we found that children with [respiratory syncytial virus detected (RSV)] differ from those with rhinovirus detected.”
Jonathan M. Mansbach
The researchers conducted this study as a secondary analysis to a previous study that examined the relation between hospital length of stay and severe bronchiolitis in children. Participants included 2,207 hospitalized children aged younger than 2 years with a physician diagnosis of bronchiolitis at 16 centers from 2007 to 2010. The researchers conducted interviews to collect patient demographics, medical history and details of acute illness. Nasopharyngeal samples were tested via PCR assay for rhinovirus and RSV.
Study results showed that children diagnosed with rhinovirus were more likely to be older than those diagnosed with RSV. Further, children with rhinovirus were more like to have a history of wheezing and eczema, and data showed that these patients were more likely to be treated with corticosteroids in the ED and during hospitalization than patients with RSV.
“We suggest that future research focus on identifying children aged younger than 2 years with bronchiolitis who may benefit from medications currently used to treat older children with asthma,” Mansbach and colleagues wrote. “These benefits may be short-term, possibly long-term or both.” – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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