Clinical characteristics of 308 febrile neonates with enterovirus infection / 国际儿科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of enterovirus infection and its clinical characteristics in neonatal febrile cases.Methods:A total of 308 neonates in the neonatal ward of Kunming Children′s Hospital with febrile symptoms from March 2018 to February 2019 were selected for the study.Fecal specimens and some (271) cerebrospinal fluid specimens were collected from all neonates.Enterovirus was respectively detected in feces and cerebrospinal fluid by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method.The rate of enterovirus infection in febrile neonates was clarified.They were divided into enterovirus infection group ( n=91) and no enterovirus infection group ( n=217). The clinical data of the subjected neonates in the two groups were analyzed and the clinical manifestations of the neonates and their laboratory findings were compared statistically. Results:Ninety-one enteroviruses (90 enterovirus were general type, and 1 was coxsackievirus A16 type) were detected in 308 children, accounting for 29.55% of all neonates.Viral RNA was detected in only 1 case [0.37% (1/271)]of all examined cerebrospinal fluid specimens, which was significantly lower than the detection rate of 29.55% (91/308) in fecal specimens.There were no fatal cases, but there was one severe case in enterovirus infection group.Except for the severe case which was discharged automatically, all of them improved or healed and discharged from hospital.The clinical manifestations of the enterovirus infection group were non-specific statistically compared with the non-enterovirus infection group(all P>0.05), except for respiratory symptoms and skin rash(all P<0.05). The incidence of enterovirus infection was significantly seasonal[83.52%(76/91)in summer and autumn]. Conclusion:In the epidemic season of enterovirus, it is recommended to list fecal enterovirus as a routine test item to improve the accuracy and timeliness of diagnosis and treatment, and avoid the application of unnecessary antibiotics and the outbreak of enterovirus in the neonatal ward.