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The Role of Parainfluenza Viruses in Inspiratory Difficulties in Children
Author(s) -
KORPPI M.,
HALONEN P.,
KLEEMOLA M.,
LAUNIALA K.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1988.tb10607.x
Subject(s) - medicine , etiology , respiratory tract infections , human parainfluenza virus , serology , paramyxoviridae , antigen , virus , respiratory tract , respiratory system , virology , immunology , viral disease , antibody
. Viral findings were prospectively studied in middle and lower respiratory tract infections in 449 hospitalized children during a 12‐month follow‐up period. A viral aetiology was found in 30 of the 65 children (46%) with inspiratory difficulties. Parainfluenza viruses were the infective agents in 24 of the 30 cases with viral diagnoses (80%), type 2 being the most prominent. There were 38 cases of parainfluenza infections, type 2 being the infective agent in 58% of the 24 cases of parainfluenza infections with inspiratory difficulties but in only 21% of the 14 cases of parainfluenza infections without inspiratory difficulties. Type 2 parainfluenza virus produced inspiratory difficulties in 82% of the cases as opposed to 56 and 50% of the cases for type 1 and 3, respectively. It is concluded that the type 2 parainfluenza virus has a particular association with inspiratory difficulties in children. Viral diagnosis was reached using direct antigen detection in nasopharyngeal specimens by radioimmunoassay in 59% and using complement fixation serology in 76% of parainfluenza infections. Ditect antigen detection was especially useful in infants. We suggest that direct antigen detection should be used as a primary virological diagnostic method in small children with middle and lower respiratory tract infections.