Case-control study of relationship of infection by respiratory viruses with acute otitis media in Chinese children

Abstract

BackgroundAcute otitis media (AOM) may occur as a complication of viral upper respiratory infection (URI) in children. Our objective was to examine children with URI + AOM or URI alone to determine the association of infection by different common respiratory viruses with AOM. MethodsNasopharyngeal swabs were collected from March 2014 to February 2015. Quantitative PCR was then used to identify the following 10 common respiratory viruses: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); parainfluenza viruses 1–4 (PIVs); influenza virus type A (IFVA); influenza virus type B; human rhinovirus (HRV); enterovirus; human metapneumovirus; human coronavirus OC43, 229E, NL63, and HKU1; adenovirus; and human bocavirus. ResultsWe examined 255 children with URIs (mean age: 32.9 ± 18.7 months), and 164 (64.1%) of them tested positive for at least one respiratory virus. The most common viruses were RSV (44, 24.3%), PIVs (28, 15.5%), and IFVA (25, 13.8%). Positivity for RSV was significantly greater in the URI + AOM group than in the URI group, but these groups did not differ in infection rates for the other 9 viruses. There were also significant seasonal differences in positivity for RSV, IFVA, HRV,HBoV, PIVs and EV. ConclusionOur results indicated a relationship between infection by common respiratory viruses and AOM in children from Beijing. A URI with RSV significantly increased the risk of AOM in these children.