title: Pediatric recurrent respiratory tract infections: when and how to explore the immune system? (About 53 cases).
abstract: Recurrent respiratory tract infections are one of the most frequent reasons for pediatric visits and hospitalization. Causes of this pathology are multiple ranging from congenital to acquired and local to general. Immune deficiencies are considered as underlying conditions predisposing to this pathology. Our work is about to determine when and how to explore the immune system when facing recurrent respiratory infections. This was based on the records of 53 children hospitalized at the pediatrics unit of Hassan II University Hospital, Fez Morocco. Thirty boys and 23 girls with age ranging from 5 months to 12 years with an average age of 2 years were involved in this study. Bronchial foreign body was the main etiology in children of 3 to 6 year old. Gastro-esophageal reflux, which in some cases is a consequence of chronic cough, as well as asthma were most frequent in infants (17 and 15% respectively). Immune deficiency was described in 7.5% of patients and the only death we deplored in our series belongs to this group. Recurrent respiratory tract infections have multiple causes. In our series they are dominated by foreign body inhalation and gastroesophageal reflux, which in some cases is a consequence of a chronic cough. Immune deficiency is not frequent but could influence the prognosis. Therefore immune explorations should be well codified.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Azami-El-Idrissi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mounia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lakhdar-Idrissi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, Morocco.
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chaouki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, Morocco.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Atmani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, Morocco.
authors.forename: Abdelhak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouharrou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, Morocco.
authors.forename: Moustapha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hida
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003371:Cough / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco; D012008:Recurrence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Immune deficiency; Pediatrics; Recurrent respiratory infections