title: Clinical and laboratory findings in children with adenovirus infections.
abstract: The hospital records of 49 children with adenovirus infection were reviewed. Diagnosis was made by virus isolation from the airways in 73%, the stools in 44%, the conjunctiva in 2% and by serology in 14% of the patients. Most children were less than 3 years of age. The peak incidence of virus isolation occurred during the month of April. Pharyngotonsillitis was the most frequent main diagnosis (49%), followed by pneumonia (14%), gastroenteritis (10%) and bronchitis (8%). Fever was the most frequent main symptom (43%), and 96% of the patients had fever at some time during the illness. The average fever temperature was 39.6 degrees C with a mean duration of 5.9 days. An obvious bacterial superinfection could be demonstrated in three patients: two had otitis media and one had pneumonia with pleural effusion. All three had more than 3 band forms per 100 peripheral white blood cells, whereas only 1 out of 46 children without demonstrable superinfection had an elevated band count. Other laboratory tests were not useful in detecting bacterial superinfection. That 71% of all children received antibiotics at some time during their illness, reflects the difficulty of excluding bacterial disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Lierde
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Corbeel
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eggermont
mesh_terms: D000257:Adenoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000258:Adenovirus Infections, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology