RESUMEN
By analyzing the epidemiological and clinical features of adenovirus in children with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI), we provide a theoretical basis for early clinical diagnosis and treatment. Nasopharyngeal secretions were collected from 3480 children with ARTI, who were hospitalized at the No. 2 Hospital of Changzhou from January 2011 to December 2012. Adenovirus were detected using direct immunofluorescence assays. A total of 80 samples were positive for adenovirus (2.30%). The rate of adenovirus infection during 2011 was significantly higher than that in 2012, and the infection rate was higher in summer and autumn than in winter and spring. The infection rate was 1.14% among children aged < 1-year-old and the rates were higher among children in other age ranges. Adenovirus was found to be an important ARTI pathogen in children in Changzhou, mainly affecting children older than 1 year. ADV infections have various clinical presentations, but affected children tend to be severely ill with poor outcomes.