ABSTRACT
Background: Numerous viral infections have triggered acute asthma exacerbations. Despite the fact that diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection is based on sero-prevalence studies but molecular diagnostic techniques, such as PCR, have offered improvements in sensitivity, specificity and rapidity over the latest methods
Objectives: The aim of this molecular study is to determine the infection rates of M. pneumoniae in acute asthma exacerbation in a group of Iraqi children from Baghdad and also to examine the correlation of the disease with different variable characteristics and symptoms
Methods: This study included 94 children between 2 and 13 years old; Fifty in-patient asthmatic children and 44 non-asthmatic children as control group who were out-patients of the same hospital. Throat and nasal swab samples were taken for DNA extraction and PCR procedures
Results: PCR results show that 33.3% asthmatic patients were positive for M. pneumoniae while 66.7% were negative [p < 0.001]. 53.8% of M. pneumonia-positive asthmatic children were 2-5 years while 46.2% were 6-14 years old. Among asthmatic patients with positive PCR, 30.8% had positive history of seasonal pattern [p = 0.026] and 69.2% have positive family history of atopy [p = 0.05]
Conclusions: Family history of atopy has strong association with asthma [p = 0.005], while factors such as sex, residence, seasonal allergen, animal allergen, passive smoking, mode of delivery or consanguinity has not been associated with asthma. M. pneumonia in a respective bulk among pediatric patients with asthma constituted an important risk factor for asthma exacerbation presented as cough and wheezy chest without fever or chest X-ray findings
ABSTRACT
The frequency of acute respiratory failure is higher in infants and young children than in adults. Acute respiratory failure remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for children. One hundred and twenty children under the age of 15 years presented with respiratory failure and admitted to RICU in Children Welfare Teaching Hospital and Surgical Specialty Hospital in Medical City-Baghdad in the period from the Pt of May-2003 to the 30" of June 2005 were enrolled in a descriptive study. Seventy nine [65.83%] cases were males and 41 [34.17%] were females. Male/female ratio was 1.93:1 .The mean age was 30.21 months, 35 [29.16%] cases were neonates. Sixty eight [56.7%] cases were from urban areas and 52 [43.3%] were from rural areas. Seventy eight [65%] children were admitted for medical diseases and 42 [3 5%] were admitted for surgical problems. The most common medical causes were respiratory [5 0%] followed by neurological [37. 1 7%].The most common respiratory cases were bronchiolitis [28.2%] and most common neurological cases were Guillain-Barre Syndrome [58.6%].The majority [90.47%] of surgical cases were admitted post-operatively. The average duration of stay in RICU was 9.71 days. Fifty three patients [44.17%] survived and 67 [55.83%] died. The most common age group admitted to RICU is infancy, medical cases are more commonly admitted than surgical cases, the most common medical causes of admission are respiratory followed by neurological causes, the most common respiratory cause of admission is acute bronchiolitis