Enterovirus D-68 in children presenting for acute care in the hospital setting

Timothy J. Savage, Jane Kuypers, Helen Y. Chu, Miranda C. Bradford, Anne Marie Buccat, Xuan Qin, Eileen J. Klein, Keith R. Jerome, Janet A. Englund, Alpana Waghmare

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Severe respiratory disease associated with enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been reported in hospitalized pediatric patients. Virologic and clinical characteristics of EV-D68 infections exclusively in patients presenting to a hospital Emergency Department (ED) or urgent care have not been well defined. Methods: Mid-nasal swabs from pediatric patients with respiratory symptoms presenting to the ED or urgent care were evaluated using a commercial multiplex PCR platform. Specimens positive for rhinovirus/enterovirus (HRV/EV) were subsequently tested using real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR for EV-D68. The PCR cycle threshold (CT) was used as a viral load proxy. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients with EV-D68 and patients without EV-D68 who tested positive for HRV/EV. Results: From August to December 2014, 511 swabs from patients with HRV/EV were available. EV-D68 was detected in 170 (33%) HRV/EV-positive samples. In multivariable models adjusted for age and underlying asthma, patients with EV-D68 were more likely to require hospitalization for respiratory reasons (odds ratio (OR): 3.11, CI: 1.85-5.25), require respiratory support (OR: 1.69, CI: 1.09-2.62), have confirmed/probable lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI; OR: 3.78, CI: 2.03-7.04), and require continuous albuterol or steroids (OR: 3.91, CI: 2.22-6.88 and OR: 4.73, CI: 2.65-8.46, respectively). Higher EV-D68 viral load was associated with need for respiratory support and LRTI in multivariate models. Conclusions: Among pediatric patients presenting to the ED or urgent care, EV-D68 causes more severe disease than non-EV-D68 HRV/EV independent of underlying asthma. High viral load was associated with worse clinical outcomes. Rapid and quantitative viral testing may help identify and risk stratify patients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)522-528
Number of pages7
JournalInfluenza and other Respiratory Viruses
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • enterovirus
  • enterovirus-D68
  • respiratory infection
  • rhinovirus

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases

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