Clinical characteristics of single human rhinovirus infection and co-infection in the respiratory tract of children.

Background: The human rhinovirus (HRV), when combined with other viruses, typically causes respiratory tract infections in children. However, there is a lack of adequate clinical studies on the causative agents and their symptoms in the case of mixed infections involving rhinovirus (RVs). The objective of this study was to determine the viral etiology of respiratory infections and the clinical characteristics of HRV infections in children.

Methods: This study included 438 patients, aged between 0 and 10 years with a respiratory tract infection diagnosis. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction was used to detect respiratory pathogens. The recorded clinical data of patients were extracted and subsequently analyzed.

Results: The positive rate of virus infection was 256/438 (58.45%) and the most frequently identified pathogens were the HRV, adenovirus (ADV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Notably, HRV co-infection with other pathogens accounted for 84.62% of co-infection cases. The highest co-infection rate was found for HRV with ADV (51.28%), followed by HRV with RSV (23.08%). Compared with HRV single infection, HRV and ADV co-infection was highly associated with the presence of a fever, and HRV co-infection with RSV had a higher rate of cough and pneumonia.

Conclusions: The study identified HRV as a significant pathogen in childhood respiratory infections, often co-infecting with ADV and RSV, and associated with distinct clinical manifestations such as fever and respiratory complications.