The identification and follow-up of young children hospitalized with viral co-infections and rhinovirus bronchiolitis are crucial to indicate therapeutic and preventive strategies.
July 19, 2022. 12:52 p.m.
bronchiolitis caused by rhinovirus (HRV) or multiple viruses acting simultaneously have increased morbidity respiratory problems than those caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This is demonstrated by a study carried out by a team from the infectious diseases area of CIBER (CIBERINFEC) and the Severo Ochoa and La Paz hospitals in Madrid.
The work links HRV infections and viral co-infections with increased risk of asthma at 7-9 years. But also with more severe asthma and a poorer evolution of lung function. This work was carried out in collaboration with the Laboratory of Influenza and Respiratory Viruses of the National Center of Microbiology ISCIII, directed by Inmaculada Casas and belonging to the Epidemiology and Public Health Area of CIBER (CIBERESP). It is published in the journal Scientific reports.
The results showed an overall prevalence of allergic rhinitis of 34% in children previously hospitalized for bronchiolitis. A figure significantly higher than that observed in schoolchildren in population studies. “These data suggest that there is an association between childhood bronchiolitis and allergic rhinitis,” explains Mª Luz García, also a researcher at CIBERINFEC.
The study also described different prevalences of allergic rhinitis depending on the specific viral etiology of acute bronchiolitis. In contrast, no association was found between these respiratory infections and atopic dermatitis, but a higher frequency of allergic reactions was confirmed.
rhinovirus bronchiolitis
According to the job, identification and follow-up of young children hospitalized for viral co-infections and rhinovirus bronchiolitis it is crucial to indicate therapeutic and preventive strategies that improve their respiratory evolution.
To reach this conclusion, data from a total of 181 patients currently aged 7-9 years were included. All with a history of admission to the Severo Ochoa University Hospital (Leganés – Madrid). Among these, 141 had presented an infection by a single respiratory virus and 40 had presented viral co-infections.
Recall that before the high frequency of detection of rhinoviruses in bronchiolitis was described, it was thought that the viral infection associated with RSV was practically the only one that seemed to predispose to the development of asthma in children. However, in recent decades, the group of rhinoviruses has gradually been recognized as important pathogens. Not just in infantile bronchiolitis and exacerbations of asthma. Also in the induction or development of asthma after a respiratory infection in the first months of life.