A virologic survey of patients admitted to a critical care unit for acute cardiorespiratory failure.
OBJECTIVE
To document the prevalence of respiratory virus infections in patients with chronic cardiac or pulmonary disorders admitted to a critical care unit for acute cardiorespiratory failure.


METHODS
The study took place in a critical care unit during two consecutive winters. All patients admitted to the unit for acute respiratory or cardiac failure were enrolled. A nasal swab was taken for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), metapneumovirus, rhinovirus, and coronavirus.


RESULTS
One hundred twenty-two patients were enrolled. Their mean age was 69 years; 42% of the patients were female; the new simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II) score on admission was 35.6; 94% of patients had acute respiratory failure, 14% reported "influenza-like" illness before admission, and 11% of patients died in the unit. Twenty-one patients (17%) tested positive for a respiratory virus. The per-1,000 positivity rates were influenza virus 66, RSV 49, rhinovirus 33, metapneumovirus 16, and coronavirus 8. No link was found between virologic results and clinical outcome. A strong link was found between the rate of influenza virus positivity and the incidence of flu-like illness in the community (p=0.017).


CONCLUSIONS
These results show that respiratory virus infection-particularly influenza virus infection during epidemic periods-is common among patients hospitalized for acute cardiorespiratory failure.
Carrat
Fabrice
F
Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire Est et Ouest, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France. carrat@u707.jussieu.fr
Leruez-Ville
Marianne
M
Tonnellier
Marc
M
Baudel
Jean-Luc
JL
Deshayes
Juliette
J
Meyer
Pascal
P
Maury
Eric
E
Galimand
Julie
J
Rouzioux
Christine
C
Offenstadt
Georges
G
D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D012621:Seasons; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*