background upper respiratory tract infections (urti) in children are the most frequent reasons for visiting a family doctor, commonly resulting in inappropriate prescription of antibiotics. in underdeveloped countries, a viral respiratory tract infection may be followed by serious complications. more than 200 viral species are associated with respiratory tract diseases in humans and this number...

conclusions though antibiotics are rarely indicated, they are often still used to treat rtis. the resulting increase in bacterial resistance, the lack of treatment efficacy, and drug-related side effects all underscore the need for alternative strategies to manage recurrent rtis. this article uses a typical pediatric case study to review central issues in the diagnosis and management of recurre...

Hospital acquired infections with respiratory syncytial virus are a major problem. The virus is spread predominantly by infected nasal secretions and we investigated whether we could reduce its incidence by cohorting babies on each ward into designated areas and encouraging staff and parents to wash their hands. We examined the incidence of hospital acquired infection due to respiratory syncyti...

Lower respiratory tract infections by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are frequent in childhood. Association of RSV with bronchiolitis obliterans has rarely been established. We report a 13-month-old child with bronchiolitis obliterans following co-infection by RSV and adenovirus, and suggest that complicated evolution of an acute bronchiolitis case can indicate an association of pathogens.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the risk of occult serious bacterial infection in the youngest febrile infants presenting with either clinical bronchiolitis or respiratory syncytial virus infection. DATA SOURCES We performed a systematic search of the Medline database for studies reporting rates of serious bacterial infection in infants younger than 90 days with clinical bronchiolitis and/or respirato...

At a recent workshop on infection the indications for ribavirin were discussed. Ribavirin has recently been licensed for hospital use in the United Kingdom having previously been available only on a named patient basis. Nebulised ribavirin is being vigorously promoted by the United Kingdom marketing company, Brittania Pharmaceuticals, for selected use in respiratory syncytial virus infections l...

Respiratory syncytial virus is a major cause of respiratory disease. There are conflicting accounts of the response of human epithelial cells to respiratory syncytial virus and a lack of data on its effect on ciliary function. Our aim was to study the early stages of respiratory syncytial virus infection of primary human basal and ciliated cultures. Using high speed videomicroscopy, we found th...

Background: The main viral causes of acute respiratory diseases (ARDs) include influenza viruses A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (ADV), rhinovirus, and parainfluenza viruses (PIV). This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of respiratory RSV, ADV and rhinovirus in patients with flu-like symptoms admitted to Mazandaran province health centers in north of Iran. Metho...

Respiratory syncytial virus infection is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children. Palivizumab has minimal impact on RSV hospitilization rates as it is only practical to offer it to the highest risk groups. The present statement reviews the published literature and provides updated recommendations regarding palivizumab use in children in Canada.