| Title | Respiratory virus infection among hospitalized adult patients with or without clinically apparent respiratory infection: a prospective cohort study. | ||
| Author | To, K K W; Chan, K-H; Ho, J; Pang, P K P; Ho, D T Y; Chang, A C H; Seng, C W; Yip, C C Y; Cheng, V C C; Hung, I F N; Yuen, K-Y | ||
| Journal | Clin Microbiol Infect | Publication Year/Month | 2019-Dec |
| PMID | 31004768 | PMCID | PMC7129190 |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China; Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. | ||
OBJECTIVES: To determine the viral epidemiology and clinical characteristics of patients with and without clinically apparent respiratory tract infection. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted during the 2018 winter influenza season. Adult patients with fever/respiratory symptoms (fever/RS group) were age- and sex-matched with patients without fever/RS (non-fever/RS group) in a 1:1 ratio. Respiratory viruses were tested using NxTAG Respiratory Pathogen Panel IVD, a commercially-available multiplex PCR panel. RESULTS: A total of 214 acutely hospitalized patients were included in the final analysis, consisting of 107 with fever/RS (fever/RS group), and 107 age- and sex-matched patients without fever/RS (non-fever/RS group). Respiratory viruses were detected in 34.1% (73/214) of patients, and co-infection occurred in 7.9% (17/214) of patients. The incidence of respiratory virus was higher in the fever/RS group than in the non-fever/RS group (44.9% (48/107) versus 23.4% (25/107), p 0.001). Influenza B virus, enterovirus/rhinovirus and coronaviruses were detected more frequently in the fever/RS group, whereas parainfluenza virus 4B and adenovirus were detected more frequently in the non-fever/RS group. Among the non-fever/RS group, chest discomfort was more common among patients tested positive for respiratory viruses than those without respiratory virus detected (44% (11/25) versus 22% (18/82), p 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Respiratory viruses can be frequently detected among hospitalized patients without typical features of respiratory tract infection. These patients may be a source of nosocomial outbreaks.