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Acute viral lower respiratory tract infections in Cambodian children: clinical and epidemiologic characteristics. 2013
BACKGROUND Viruses are detected in most hospitalized children admitted for acute respiratory infections. Etiologic understanding is needed to improve clinical management and prevention, particularly in resource-limited tropical countries. METHODS A 3-year prospective descriptive study was conducted among Cambodian children admitted to 2 provincial hospitals for acute lower respiratory tract infection. Molecular detection for 18 viral pathogens using multiplex polymerase chain reaction/reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions was performed. RESULTS We enrolled 1006 children less than 5 years of age of whom 423 (42%), 428 (42%) and 155 (16%) had pneumonia, bronchiolitis and unclassified lower respiratory tract infections, respectively. Of the 551 (55%) with documented viral infection, a single virus was detected in 491 (89%), including rhinovirus (n = 169; 34%), respiratory syncytial virus (n = 167; 34%), parainfluenza virus (n = 40; 8%), human metapneumovirus (n = 39; 8%), influenza virus (n = 31; 6%), bocavirus (n = 16; 3%), adenovirus (n = 15; 3%), coronavirus (n = 9; 2%) and enterovirus (n = 5; 1%). Coinfections with multiple viruses were detected in 6% (2 viruses detected in 59 cases; 3 viruses detected in 1 case). CONCLUSIONS Similar to other tropical countries, rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus were the principal viral pathogens detected among children hospitalized for lower tract respiratory infection in Cambodia.
