title: Mixed viral infections circulating in hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections in kuwait.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of viral mixed detection in hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections and to evaluate the correlation between viral mixed detection and clinical severity. Hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections (RTI) were investigated for 15 respiratory viruses by using sensitive molecular techniques. In total, 850 hospitalized patients aged between 3 days and 80 years were screened from September 2010 to April 2014. Among the 351 (47.8%) patients diagnosed with viral infections, viral mixed detection was identified in 49 patients (14%), with human rhinovirus (HRV) being the most common virus associated with viral mixed detection (7.1%), followed by adenovirus (AdV) (4%) and human coronavirus-OC43 (HCoV-OC43) (3.7%). The highest combination of viral mixed detection was identified with HRV and AdV (2%), followed by HRV and HCoV-OC43 (1.4%). Pneumonia and bronchiolitis were the most frequent reason for hospitalization with viral mixed detection (9.1%). There were statistical significance differences between mixed and single detection in patients diagnosed with bronchiolitis (P = 0.002) and pneumonia (P = 0.019). Our findings might indicate a significant association between respiratory virus mixed detection and the possibility of developing more severe LRTI such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia when compared with single detection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, 24923 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Essa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, 24923 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Owayed
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Mubarak Hospital, Ministry of Health, 24923 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Haya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Altawalah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, 24923 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Mousa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khadadah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, 24923 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Behbehani
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, 24923 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Widad
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Al-Nakib