Asseri Ali Alsuheel, Al-Qahtani Saleh M, Alzaydani Ibrahim A, Al-Jarie Ahmed, Alyazidi Noha Saad, Alrmelawi Ali A, Alqahtani Alya Musfer, Alsulayyim Rahaf S, Alzailaie Ameerah K, Abdullah Dhay M, Ali Abdelwahid S
Department of Child Health, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pediatrics, Abha Maternity and Children Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Ann Med. 2025 Dec;57(1):2445791. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2445791. Epub 2024 Dec 24.
There is a global consensus that respiratory tract infections are the major causes of morbidity and mortality among children. In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections among children admitted to hospital with acute respiratory infections. We also opted to identify the predictors of paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission.
In this study, a retrospective investigation and analysis of 423 children who were admitted to Abha Maternity and Children Hospital, in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, between January and December 2022 were conducted.
The median age of these children was 16.5 months (Q1-Q3: 6-46.3). It was observed that the infectivity levels of RSV, SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B infections peaked in early to mid-September, mid-July, May and June, and October, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the total WBC counts between RSV and influenza B ( = 0.035) and SARS-CoV-2 and influenza B ( = 0.013). Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference in the absolute lymphocyte count between influenza A and RSV ( = 0.002). The median number of days in hospital was 6 days (Q1-Q3: 4-10). Patients with RSV infection required a significantly longer hospital stay, with a median of 8 days (Q1-Q3: 4-10). The factors associated with the likelihood of PICU admission for all study participants were congenital heart disease (odds ratio (OR) = 2.9, 95% confidence intervals (CI) [1.4-6.1]), RSV (OR = 2.3, 95% CI [1.3-4.1]) and age <6 months (OR = 2.0, 95% CI [1.2-3.4]).
RSV was identified as the most common pathogen causing acute lower respiratory infections among the studied patients. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is the seasonal changes in RSV and influenza infections, which mandates further research.
全球普遍认为呼吸道感染是儿童发病和死亡的主要原因。在本研究中，我们旨在比较因急性呼吸道感染入院的儿童中呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）、流感和严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染的临床和流行病学特征。我们还选择确定儿科重症监护病房（PICU）入院的预测因素。
在本研究中，对2022年1月至12月期间入住沙特阿拉伯南部地区阿卜哈妇产儿童医院的423名儿童进行了回顾性调查和分析。
这些儿童的中位年龄为16.5个月（第一四分位数-第三四分位数：6-46.3）。观察到RSV、SARS-CoV-2、甲型流感和乙型流感感染的感染水平分别在9月上旬至中旬、7月中旬、5月和6月以及10月达到峰值。RSV与乙型流感（P=0.035）以及SARS-CoV-2与乙型流感（P=0.013）之间的白细胞总数存在统计学显著差异。此外，甲型流感和RSV之间的绝对淋巴细胞计数存在统计学显著差异（P=0.002）。住院天数的中位数为6天（第一四分位数-第三四分位数：4-10）。RSV感染患者的住院时间明显更长，中位数为8天（第一四分位数-第三四分位数：4-10）。所有研究参与者入住PICU可能性相关的因素包括先天性心脏病（优势比（OR）=2.9，95%置信区间（CI）[1.4-6.1]）、RSV（OR=2.3，95%CI[1.3-4.1]）和年龄<6个月（OR=2.0，95%CI[1.2-3.4]）。
RSV被确定为研究患者中引起急性下呼吸道感染的最常见病原体。本研究中出现的一个更重要的发现是RSV和流感感染的季节性变化，这需要进一步研究。
