Pediatrics & Therapeutics
Open Access

Abstract

The Nose Knows: Identified Organisms in Community Pediatric Sinusitis and Febrile URI-A Retrospective Study

Jacqueline Rice, Emaan Sulaiman, Chad Rudnick*

Objective: Viruses and bacteria comprising the nasal microbiome are both commensals and pathobionts, existing in a dynamic niche that is influenced by many factors including age, genetics, seasons, immunization status, as well as environmental and social factors such as daycare status and number of siblings. The aim of this study is to characterize the nasopharyngeal bacteria and viruses present at the time of URI diagnosis, to determine bacterial and viral co-infections, and to correlate the results to the day care status of the patient or patient’s siblings.

 Study Design: 186 patients who had a respiratory PCR panel test obtained during an illness visit to a community outpatient pediatric clinic were included. Ages included children from 4 months to 17 years of age.

 Results:  47.8% of the patients included in this study had a bacterial-viral co-infection. In non-daycare attending children who presented with febrile illness and had a daycare or school attending sibling, non-SARS human coronavirus was found in all of the patients. 

Conclusion: Our data support a correlation between age, daycare status, and etiology of upper respiratory infection. Viral and bacterial co-infection are common in younger aged children and become less frequent as children age.

Published Date: 2020-10-30;