Rol del virus sincicial respiratorio en una cohorte de adultos mayores / Respiratory Syncytial Virus in the elderly adults

El rol de los virus respiratorios distintos de influenza en las infecciones respiratorias agudas en los adultos mayores ha sido probablemente subestimado. En los últimos años, los avances en técnicas moleculares de diagnóstico han hecho posible la identificación rápida del virus sincicial respiratorio humano (HRSV). Realizamos un estudio prospectivo observacional para evaluar el rol del HRSV en mayores de 65 años que se hospitalizaron por infecciones respiratorias en nuestra institución, ubicada en la ciudad de La Plata, provincia de Buenos Aires. Fueron reclutados 124 pacientes y el HRSV se detectó en 13, influenza B en 9 e influenza A en 8. La presentación clínica más frecuente de los The role of respiratory viruses other than influenza in acute respiratory tract infections among elderly adults has probably been underestimated. Recent advances in molecular diagnosis have made the rapid identification of human respiratory syncitial virus HRSV infection possible. We conducted a prospective observational study to evaluate the role of HRSV in elderly patients (>65 years of age) hospitalized for acute respiratory infections. A total of 124 patients were recruited, HRSV infection was identified in 13 patients, Influenza B in 9 patients and influenza A in 8 patients. The most frequent clinical presentation was bronchospasm and the infection was prevalent in patients with comorbidities. HRSV infections accounted for an important number of hospital admissions and has been associated with high mortality rates (23%). pacientes con HRSV fue el broncoespasmo y afectó principalmente a personas con comorbilidades. HRSV fue responsable de un número importante de internaciones por enfermedad respiratoria aguda en mayores de 65 años en nuestra institución y se asoció a mortalidad elevada (23%).

The role of respiratory viruses other than influenza in acute respiratory tract infections among elderly adults has probably been underestimated. Recent advances in molecular diagnosis have made the rapid identification of human respiratory syncitial virus HRSV infection possible. We conducted a prospective observational study to evaluate the role of HRSV in elderly patients (>65 years of age) hospitalized for acute respiratory infections. A total of 124 patients were recruited, HRSV infection was identified in 13 patients, Influenza B in 9 patients and influenza A in 8 patients. The most frequent clinical presentation was bronchospasm and the infection was prevalent in patients with comorbidities. HRSV infections accounted for an important number of hospital admissions and has been associated with high mortality rates (23%).

Diagnóstico virológico de la infección por virus sincitial respiratorio / Virological diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus

La enfermedad respiratoria aguda se define como un conjunto de infecciones del tracto respiratorio que pueden ser causadas por una gran variedad de microorganismos tanto virales como bacterianos, y que constituyen un importante problema de salud pública en el mundo. La infección por Virus Sincitial Respiratorio (VSR) está catalogada como una de las principales causas de enfermedad respiratoria aguda, presentándo se especialmente en niños menores de dos años. La falta de diagnóstico confiable de la etiología en las infecciones respiratorias, da como resultado un manejo inadecuado de los pacientes, lo cual puede originar varios tipos de complicaciones. Por tal razón, en esta revisión de la literatura nos enfocamos en presentar un panorama general de la situación de las infecciones respiratorias debidas a VSR en Latinoamérica y las principales dificultades que se presentan al realizar el diagnostico virológico. Para el caso puntual del VSR debido a que todos los agentes etiológicos producen signos y síntomas similares, estos no pueden ser tomados como referencia para distinguir el agente etiológico asociado, así que, en este trabajo se describen las estrategias para realizar el diagnostico de VSR como por ejemplo los que se encargan de detectar anticuerpos específicos en el suero y también los métodos de detección del virus directamente en la muestra de secreción respiratoria, es decir el aislamiento viral en cultivo celular, la detección de antígenos por fluorescencia y la detección de ácidos nucleicos.

Acute respiratory disease is defined as a set of respiratory tract infections that can be caused by a variety of both viral and bacterial microorganisms, which constitute a major public health problem in the world. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infection is listed as a major cause of acute respiratory disease, occurring especially in children less than two years old. The lack of accurate diagnosis of respiratory infections etiology, results in an inadequate management of patients, which can cause lots of complications. Thus, this review is focused on presenting an overview of the status of respiratory infections due to RSV in Latin America and the main difficulties related with performing the virological diagnosis. For the specific case of RSV, since all etiologic agents produce similar symptoms, clinical signs cannot be taken as a reference to distinguish the etiological agent of the disease, so, in this paper we describe strategies for diagnosis of RSV such as those that detects specific antibodies in serum and also methods that directly detects the virus in the respiratory secretion sample, in other words, the viral isolation in cell culture, antigens and nucleic acid detection.

Internação devido a infecção pelo vírus sincicial respiratório em pacientes menores de 2 anos com doença cardíaca congênita hemodinamicamente significativa / Hospitalization due to respiratory syncytial virus infection in patients under 2 years of age with hemodynamically significant congenital heart disease

OBJETIVO: Descrever taxas de hospitalização, carga de doença e fatores de risco associados a infecções agudas respiratórias (IRAs), especialmente aquelas causadas pelo vírus sincicial respiratório (VSR) e as causadas por outros vírus, em uma coorte de pacientes menores de 2 anos com doença cardíaca congênita (DCC). MÉTODOS: Um estudo de coorte observacional e prospectivo foi realizado com pacientes com DCC que receberam alta da unidade neonatal e foram acompanhados em um centro de referência. Foram registradas variáveis demográficas, tipo de DCC e necessidades médicas. O desfecho primário foi a internação por IRA (em valores totais e referentes apenas à infecção pelo VSR e por outras causas), e o secundário a carga da doença em pacientes hospitalizados. As taxas de internação foram calculadas considerando os valores totais de IRA e também os referentes apenas à IRA pelo VSR. Também foi calculada a densidade de incidência. RESULTADOS: Foram incluídos 71 pacientes com peso de nascimento de 3.043±720 g (média ± DP); 74% necessitaram de cirurgia e 8,4% faleceram em decorrência da DCC. No total, 22/71 pacientes foram hospitalizados por IRA (31%; IC95% 20-43), 15 deles pelo VSR (21%; IC95% 12-32), e ocorreram 1,35 episódios de internação por IRA/1.000 dias de seguimento (0,92 episódios de internação por IRA causada pelo VRS/1.000 dias). Quarenta por cento dos pacientes com IRA causada pelo VSR necessitaram de admissão em UTI pediátrica, e 30% necessitaram de VM versus nenhum nos casos de IRA por outros vírus. CONCLUSÕES: Na população estudada, a internação por IRA era comum, sendo o VSR a causa mais frequente. A carga da doença associada à IRA pelo VSR foi considerável, embora nenhum paciente tivesse falecido em decorrência da IRA. Com exceção da pouca idade, nenhum outro fator de risco biológico ou social esteve associado à internação por IRA causada pelo VSR.

OBJECTIVE: To describe hospitalization rates, burden of disease, and associated risk factors of acute respiratory infections (ARI), particularly those caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and non-RSV-ARI, in a cohort of patients under 2 years of age with congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: A prospective, observational cohort study was conducted with CHD patients discharged from the neonatal unit and followed up at a referral center. Demographic variables, type of CHD, and medical needs were recorded. Study primary outcome was hospitalization for ARI (overall, due to RSV, and due to other causes). Secondary outcome was burden of disease in hospitalized patients. Incidence rates of hospitalization were calculated for overall ARI and RSV-ARI. Incidence densities were additionally calculated. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients with birth weight 3,043±720 g (mean ± SD) were included; 74% required surgery and 8.4% died of CHD during the study. Overall, 22/71 patients were hospitalized due to ARI (31%; 95%CI 20-43), 15 of them RSV-associated (21%; 95% CI 12-32), and there were 1.35 episodes of hospitalization for ARI/1,000 days of follow-up (0.92 episodes of hospitalization for RSV-ARI/1,000 days). Forty per cent of patients with ARI due to RSV needed admission to pediatric ICU and 30% required mechanical ventilation vs. none in non-RSV-ARI. CONCLUSIONS: In the studied population, ARI hospitalization was common, and RSV was its most frequent cause. Disease burden associated with RSV-ARI was considerable, although no patient died from ARI. Except younger age, no other biological or social risk factors were found associated with RSV-ARI hospitalization.