Viral codetection tied to severe disease in children with suspected pneumonia

In infants with suspected viral pneumonia, the presence of two or more viruses may lead to a more severe disease, suggests a study.

A total of 561 patients were included in this case-control study, with 224 (39.9 percent) infants. Of these, 175 (31.2 percent) required intensive care, and one died. Some 223 children (39.8 percent) were diagnosed with two or more viruses.

Multivariate analysis revealed the independent association of age <1 year (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.8, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.8‒4.5) and prior bronchiolitis (aOR, 3.6, 95 percent CI, 1.4‒8.9) with greater disease severity.

Codetection (aOR, 1.4, 95 percent CI, 0.9‒2.0) was not significantly associated with greater severity, but it was the only factor that correlated with worse severity in the subgroup of infants (aOR, 2.7, 95 percent CI, 1.1‒6.8).

The study included children hospitalized at a tertiary-level institution between September 2019 and June 2022 with clinical suspicion of pneumonia and detection of at least one respiratory virus by nested Multiplex polymerase chain reaction.

The case group included children between 1 and 60 months of age who met the severity criteria: complicated pneumonia, intrapulmonary complications, vasoactive requirement or ventilatory support, or death. The control group involved children who did not meet these criteria.

The investigators conducted a multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression models to calculate aORs for relevant variables and potential confounders.