[Epidemiology and molecular biology of respiratory syncytial virus among hospitalized children in Guangzhou from 2013 to 2017].

Objective: To understand the genetic variation and epidemiological characteristics of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) in Guangzhou. Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs specimens were collected from 0-6 year old children hospitalized with acute respiratory infection, then HRSV was tested and genotyped by RT-PCR. Phylogenetic tree was bulit using MEGA 6.0 software. NetNGlyc 1.0 server was used to predict the potential N-linked glycosylation sites. Results: A total of 1 225 nasopharyngeal specimens were collected, including 783 males and 442 females. The median (P(25), P(75)) age was 8 (3, 24) months. Among the 209 HRSV-positive cases (17.06%), 117 cases (55.98%) were HRSV-A and 92 cases (44.02%) were HRSV-B. The two distinct subgroups (HRSV-A and HRSV-B) alternately played dominant role to cause HRSV infection and exchange almost once every two years. The HRSV prevalence rate decreased with age. The HRSV-positive rate among children under 2 years old was 18.83% (196 cases), accounting for 93.78% of the total positive cases. There were 32 HRSV positive cases co-infected with at least one respiratory virus, with the co-infection rate of 15.31%. Phylogenetic tree analysis of the second hypervariable region (HVR2) of the G protein classified the HRSV-A specimens into ON1 (n=62) and NA1 (n=2) genotypes while all HRSV-B specimens belonged to BA genotype (n=53). The HVR2 of the G protein varied in using stop condon, amino acid substitutions, glycosylation sites. Conclusion: Children under 2 years old were the high risk population of HRSV infection in Guangzhou. ON1 genotype turned into a primary genetype of the HRSV-A subgroup while BA genotype dominated the HRSV-B subgroup. A greater diversification of amino acid substitutions, and some deletion and insertion of glycosylation sites embodied the polymorphism of G protein as main protective antigen.

Perceptions of caring in China: patient and nurse questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: The concept of caring is important to both patients and nurses. If patients and nurses perceive caring behaviours differently, patients may not have their needs met or will be dissatisfied with the nursing. AIM: This study conducted in mainland China compared the perceptions of nurses and patients concerning nurses' caring behaviours. METHODS: From November 2011 to June 2012, 680 patients and 540 of their nurses in five hospitals in southern, central and eastern China were invited to complete a descriptive comparative survey with four subcategories, the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24. Respondents scored each of the 24 items on the survey from 1 (low) to 6 (high). Of those invited, 595 patients (87.50%) and 445 (82.41%) nurses completed the survey. RESULTS: The mean item score on the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 was 4.32 and 4.96 for patients and nurses, respectively. The subcategory with the highest mean score for both groups was knowledge and skills (4.73, 5.25), and the lowest for both groups was positive connectedness (3.98, 4.51). Nurses' scores were significantly higher than those of patients for all four subcategories (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The gap between the two groups indicates that nurses need to improve their understanding and response to patients' actual and perceived needs and expectations. In China, patients require more support from nurses of their psychological needs. STUDY LIMITATIONS: Participants came from a limited number of hospitals in three cities. A larger sample from different hospitals in mainland China could have increased the power of the study.