Infect Chemother.  2003 Feb;35(1):1-11.

Detection of Rhinovirus from Children with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction

• Kwak YH
• Choi EH
• Lee HJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Rhinovirus has long been considered as the most important cause of uncomplicated upper respiratory infection and a trigger of asthma exacerbation, and was recently been widely appreciated for it's association with lower respiratory tract illness. METHODS: One hundred and sixty-six children with lower respiratory tract infections were enrolled. They had been hospitalized at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital from August 1997 to March 2000. All the children had been previously healthy and under 5 years of age. Rhinovirus was detected in nasal aspirates by semi-nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and confirmed by digestion pattern of the amplicon with a restriction enzyme. Presence of other respiratory pathogens was also analysed. RESULTS: Of the 166 children, rhinoviruses were detected in 8 children (4.8%). Majority of rhinovirus was detected in the patients who had been hospitalized in the late fall and winter, and all the infected children recovered completely. Other respiratory pathogens identified were; mycoplasma in 7 (4.2%), respiratory syncytial virus in 15 (9.0%), parainfluenza virus in 8 (4.8%), adenovirus in 4 (2.4%) and influenza virus in 3 (1.8%). CONCLUSION: Rhinovirus may be a significant cause of acute lower respiratory infections in healthy children. Further investigation on the diagnosis and clinical characteristics of rhinoviral infection is warranted.

Keyword

Rhinovirus; Respiratory infection; Polymerase chain reaction

MeSH Terms

Adenoviridae
Asthma
Child*
Diagnosis
Digestion
Humans
Mycoplasma
Orthomyxoviridae
Paramyxoviridae Infections
Polymerase Chain Reaction*
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Respiratory System*
Respiratory Tract Infections*
Reverse Transcription*
Rhinovirus*
Seoul