Viral pathogens associated with acute respiratory illness in hospitalized adults and elderly from Zagreb, Croatia, 2016 to 2018

Authors

Rok Civljak, Department of Respiratory Tract Infections, Dr Fran Mihaljevic University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
Tatjana Tot, Department of Microbiology, General Hospital Karlovac, Karlovac, Croatia.
Ann R. Falsey, Rochester Regional HealthFollow
Eva Huljev, Department of Respiratory Tract Infections, Dr Fran Mihaljevic University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
Jasmina Vranes, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Dr Andrija Stampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
Suncanica Ljubin-Sternak, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Dr Andrija Stampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.

Department

Medicine

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal Of Medical Virology

Abstract

AIMS: To investigate the viral etiology of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in hospitalized adults and elderly patients in Croatia, compare the prevalence of detected viruses, and to determine clinical characteristics and seasonal occurrence of investigated infections. METHODS: From January 2016 to June 2018, a total of 182 adult patients presented with symptoms of ARI and admitted to the hospital were tested for 15 respiratory viruses by multiplex reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Clinical data were collected by retrospective analysis of the patient's chart. RESULTS: A virus was identified in 106 (58.5%) of the patients. The most commonly detected virus was influenza virus (41.5%), followed by respiratory syncytial virus (13.8%), human metapneumovirus (13.0%), parainfluenza viruses (12.2%), rhinoviruses (11.4%), adenovirus and coronaviruses with equal frequencies (3.3%), and enterovirus (1.6%). The serum level of C-reactive protein and white blood cell count were significantly lower in patients with respiratory viruses identified when compared with those in whom no virus was detected (P < 0.001 and P = 0.007, respectively). There were no differences in clinical symptoms according to the type of the detected virus, except for more frequent illness exposure recall for influenza infection ( P = 0.010). Influenza, parainfluenza, and pneumoviruses were detected mostly in winter months, while rhinoviruses in autumn and spring. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to influenza, pneumoviruses, rhinoviruses, and parainfluenza viruses play an important role in etiology of ARIs in adults. Fast and accurate laboratory diagnosis for respiratory viruses in routine practice is needed for clinicians optimally manage patients with ARI and potentially avoid the unnecessary use of antimicrobial drugs.

First Page

1202

Last Page

1209

DOI

10.1002/jmv.25437

Volume

91

Issue

7

Publication Date

7-1-2019

Medical Subject Headings

Acute Disease (epidemiology); Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Croatia (epidemiology); Female; Hospitalization (statistics & numerical data); Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Respiratory Tract Infections (epidemiology, virology); Retrospective Studies; Seasons; Viruses (classification, pathogenicity); Young Adult

PubMed ID

30801727

Recommended Citation

Civljak, R., Tot, T., Falsey, A. R., Huljev, E., Vranes, J., & Ljubin-Sternak, S. (2019). Viral pathogens associated with acute respiratory illness in hospitalized adults and elderly from Zagreb, Croatia, 2016 to 2018. Journal Of Medical Virology, 91 (7), 1202-1209. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25437