Distribution of respiratory viruses which cause lower respiratory tract infection in pediatric age group

Objective:To determine the appropriate treatment regimen and the clinical course of the lower respiratory tract infections(RTIs)and to detect the common viral causes of lower RTIs.Methods:The present study included a total of 255 pediatric patients aged less than 7 years old and admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Rize Training and Research Hospital between January 2014 and January 2015 with clinical pre-diagnosis of lower RTI.Nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected from these patients were tested for viral pathogens by using multiplex RTPCR kit the ResPlex II plus Panel PRE(Qiagen,Germany).Results:A total of 212 out of 255(83.1%)specimens revealed positive for one or more viral pathogens.The most common detected pathogens were respiratory syncytial virus(RSV)A/B in 110 samples(43.1%),rhinovirus in 51 samples(20.0%),adenovirus in 36 samples(14.1%),influenzae virus A in 32 samples(12.5%),and coronavirus in 24 samples(9.4%).In 76 samples(29.8%),more than one viral pathogen were detected.RSV was seen in more than 50%patients in the first 2 years.RSV was the most common pathogen in each year of the first 5 years but rhinovirus,influenza A and adenovirus were seen more than RSV after the fifth year.A total of 95.8%of the viral detections were seen between November and April without a significant peak amongst these months.The distribution of the pathogens by months of the year showed no significance.Conclusions:These findings can contribute to epidemiological data of Turkey.Detection of the viral pathogens causing lower RTIs can be critical in management of the disease,decrease inappropriate antibiotic treatment,and lower the morbidity and mortality rates in such diseases.